Chapter 12 - Chapter 12: Confrontation

"Hey stitcher girl,

Just in case you heard about Dagur's little attack on Dragon's Edge and you were worried about me, I'm okay. I mean, of course I'm okay, I'm a Jorgensen. Ha ha! Not a scratch on me. Okay… maybe I got a few bruises and cuts, but by and large Hookfang, me, and the rest of the gang are all safe. So relax before you pull your stitches or strain your arm.

The twins and Fishface should have had an early warning that Dagur was close, but the twins have been messing with our defenses by distracting and playing with the Night Terrors who act as our sentries. Trust the twins to muck up everything. Honestly, Hiccup ought to know by now that the twins don't listen to Fishface. Heck, they probably wouldn't listen to Loki himself. Don't get me wrong, the twins can be scary right about certain things and they are brilliant in their own rights. Totally unhinged, but also brilliant.

At any rate the Edge's defenses were down and Dagger took advantage of it. Fishface and the twins were pinned down and taking shelter under the dome, you know that big metal arena I told you Hookfang and I trapped that huge monstrous nightmare in. By the time I got there Meatlug was already hurt and they had given up trying to fight back. Dagur had more of those catapults he was hurling boulders at Berk with. Still I got back at them. No one tangles with me and Hookfang and comes out unscathed. I rallied the others but after two days it wasn't looking good. Tuffnut was starting to go nuts, crazier than normal. He took an insane risk to save his stupid pet chicken. It might have been the last thing he did if Hiccup, Astrid, and Stoick hadn't shown up right then. With their help we were able to start turning the tide a bit but it wasn't until Astrid's trainees showed up on their dragons that we really got the upper hand.

Even with all that extra firepower, Dagur still got away. He's a slippery eel but he's dead when I get him. His whole plan was to attack Berk and draw us away from Dragon's Edge so he could find it. All that destruction and work just so he could put a point on a map. He'll pay.

Anyway, we had some fires to put out and some repairs to make. I thought I would be done with repairs after Berk but no. There were two large holes in my hut and the back half got torched before I could put the fire out. Did I tell you about the cool fire extinguisher system I put above my house? I'll draw a picture of it at the end. It comes in handy more than I'd like to admit, but you know, Hookfang and all.

Astrid's trainees officially earned their stripes and are now dragon riders. Astrid's Team or A-Team for short. Still can't believe she whipped those misfits into decent dragon riders. But I suppose they could all fight beforehand. It's really all about learning to fight and fly with your dragon. There was something so satisfying about watching my dad snap too and take orders from an 18 year old girl. She did a good job with them all and I'm glad Berk will have riders to defend it now.

Hey, you better be taking it easy. You promised! I told Gothi to go check on you again when she got back. Hopefully she got those itchy stitches out. Still wish I could be there to help more but Dagur's attack just adds more fuel to the fire. To be honest, even if I could come home now, I wouldn't. I want to nail Dagur for what he did. I don't care if he is Heather's brother. I won't hold back when we find him again. He gets more dangerous the longer he's out here. He's amassing allies and had a whole fleet of ships when he attacked the Edge.

I have to go. Hookfangs messing with the twins bore pit again and I want to be there to watch. See you soon!

Dragon boy.

PS. Take it easy!

PSS. Seriously, I mean it. Get better so me and Hookfang can take you flying again when we see you again."

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Why did they always wind up flying out into a storm? Sure he had Hookfang so he wasn't cold like the others, but it was still wet. Astrid had been missing for almost the entire day by the time that Hiccup had gotten antsy enough to lead them out to search for her. The gang had finally spotted her barely hanging on to a piece of driftwood in the middle of the ocean. Hiccup had been driven so frantic by then that he had jumped into the ocean to save her before even pulling off his metal leg. He'd almost dragged them both down before he'd finally gotten them both up onto Toothless.

Seeing Astrid shivering like mad, Snotlout had suggested she ride with him and Hookfang. But typical Hiccup had probably thought he was just trying to make another pass at Astrid, and while he would have liked to brag to her later, that wasn't what made him suggest it. For Thor's sake, Astrid had been in the water for who knew how long. She was pale all over except for her lips and fingers which were turning blue. But Hiccup had deliriously, insisted on keeping her with him, wrapping her up in a fur cloak he had brought. It wasn't until Astrid had stilled in Hiccup's arms, her breathing unnatural and lost consciousness that Hiccup had relented. At Fishleg's urging, Hiccup had finally allowed him and Hookfang to carry her the rest of the way home. It had been unnerving seeing his cousin that out of his head. Astrid had sat slumped over Hookfang's head in front of him, Hiccup's cloak still overtop of her while Hookfang's heat radiated up at her from beneath. Having the warmest dragon had its perks. Astrid had soon regained some color and her shivering had resumed and then gradually given way to the slow breathing of rest. By the time they had reached the Edge she looked much better, but one question still burned in their minds. Where was Stormfly?

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"Argahhh!" screamed Hiccup, kicking out of the wet sand on the beach.

Snotlout understood the sentiment but chose to ignore him for the moment. Instead he examined Hookfang's injury. The cut from the dragon hunter's arrow was small but with that dragon root mixture coating the arrowheads, a small cut was all it had taken to completely immobilize Hookfang.

Dragon hunters. It was still a hard thing to wrap his brain around. Of course there had been the shipwrecked Reaper ship, which had clearly belonged to dragon hunters at one point, but it had been abandoned. They'd never seen living dragon hunters. But it certainly answered the question of what had happened to Stormfly. Captured by this Ryker Grimborne guy. Stormfly and now all the other riders and dragons save him, Hiccup, Toothless and Hookfang. Without Hiccup and Toothless grabbing Hookfang's tail and hauling them off like they had, it would have been just Hiccup and Toothless. As it was, it was still pretty bad. Hookfang was paralyzed, and neither he or Toothless could approach the hunter ships without being shot out of the sky with more dragon root arrows.

What did they even want the dragons for anyway? Who knew? Nothing good, that was for certain. At least Hookfang had slowly begun to regain control and mobility by the time Toothless had landed on the beach of this small island.

Content his dragon was as comfortable as possible, he turned his attention to his cousin again. Hiccup was still fuming, muttering under his breath and pacing back and forth. Let him vent. With hookfang down and no plan, it's not like they were going anywhere soon. The sun was down and he was hungry.

Toothless had made himself useful for once and found several fish. He'd offered some to Hookfang, but his dragon had been unable to lift his head to eat. Toothless had then allowed Snotlout to take two. By the time Hiccup had calmed down enough for intelligible words, Snotlout had a fire going, fresh drinking water in their pouches, and the fish smelled done. At last, with a frustrated but weary sigh Hiccup sank into the sand beside him.

"Fish?" asked Snotlout, holding the smaller of the two out for Hiccup. His cousin took it without reaction, simply holding the food limply in his hand.

Snotlout's belly rumbled and he bit into the fish, the warm juices filling his mouth. A bit bland, but it would fill their stomachs.

"Hey," he said between bites, breaking the silence. "Thanks for pulling me and Hookfang out earlier."

Hiccup let out an almighty sigh and let his head fall back. "I only wish we had gotten everyone else out. They're captured and it's my fault."

"It was one doozy of a plan," he agreed, peeling back the fish skin before taking another bite.

Hiccup shot him a disparaging look. "Gee, thanks for that Snotlout."

"I'm just saying we rushed in without really thinking it through is all," he said with a shrug. "We're so used to dealing with Dagur who, while deranged, isn't always the sharpest nail in the lot. We underestimated this Ryker guy."

"Clearly," said Hiccup, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Don't worry too much. We'll get them back. And in the mean time they have Astrid. If we take too long she will rescue herself and the others before we can."

Hiccup snorted. "Probably, but she will have the others to worry about and if they keep the dragons drugged it won't do much good. This Ryker guy knows a lot more than I would have expected."

"Makes sense. If they are any good at their job they're going to know more about dragons than we would expect. They would need to be quite clever to catch and keep that many dragons. What do you think they do with them?"

"Let's hope we can get the others back before we find out."

"So, what's our plan then," he asked, sucking the salty flavor from his fingers one by one.

"There isn't a plan," said Hiccup dejectedly. "I can't see how we can get close enough to do any good. In two days they will reach the port we saw in the dragon eye and who knows where they will go then."

"Those dragon root arrows are no joke," said Snotlout, throwing the fish bones into the fire.

"How is Hookfang?" asked Hiccup, glancing over to where Hookfang and Toothless lay curled together. Toothless had become unusually doting to Hookfang since they had landed. A deep rumbling told them that Hookfang at least was fast asleep.

"He was starting to regain some movement by the time we landed, mostly in his tail, but it will still probably be morning before he's ready to go anywhere."

"That's good at least," said Hiccup.

"The arrow glanced off the buckle of my saddle and just grazed him. Got him right in the soft spot under his wing."

Hiccup took a small bite of his fish.

"So what now?" he pressed, watching Hiccup eat. "I know you're not giving up on them. Do we amass a Gronkle army and go after them?"

"It would take too long to train them all even if we were sure we could find them quickly," said Hiccup. "And it still doesn't solve the real problem. We have to get in close without being shot. Toothless and Hookfang are too vulnerable."

"Too bad we don't have some sort of dragon armor," he said, picking a fish scale out of his teeth and flicking it into the fire. He turned to see Hiccup watching him with mild disgust.

He huffed in irritation. "What? The little scales are really hard and they always get stuck in my…" But he paused as Hiccup's expression suddenly changed, the familiar look of a dawning idea spreading over his features.

"Snotlout, that's genius!" said his cousin, getting quickly to his feet and shoving the rest of his fish into Snotlout's hand.

Hiccup rushed to his saddle pack on Toothless, leaving Snotlout to wonder what was so genius. But crazy impulsive Hiccup was back so he just watched, content to eat the fish Hiccup had shoved at him. His cousin spread the map out over the sand next to the fire and studied it intently for several long minutes. He finished the fish but Hiccup was still tracing lines on the map.

"So are you going to tell me about this brilliant plan of mine or…"

Hiccup raised a hand hushing him. Snotlout muttered under his breath and folded his arms crossly but waited all the same. Finally, Hiccup looked up from the map, a big grin on his face.

"Well?" pressed Snotlout impatiently.

"We make dragon armor," said Hiccup, folding the map up and patting Snotlout's shoulder as he passed.

"But…"

"Get some sleep, Snotlout," said Hiccup, settling into the sand beside Toothless. "We have a hard day's ride tomorrow."

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"You know you're insane, right?" said Snotlout, tipping the sack of Screaming Death scales out into the grass before retrieving another.

"Hey this was your brilliant idea," said Hiccup, grinning toothily.

"No, my idea was to make dragon armor. It was your suicidal idea to sneak into a Screaming Death tunnel and steal his scales. That dragon didn't remember you."

"He didn't, but his mother did," said Hiccup, starting to pick through the pile of smooth white scales.

"That was pure luck," shot Snotlout. "That was dangerous."

"Occupational hazard," said Hiccup, cheerfully waving a hand.

"You're going to be the death of me, Hiccup Haddock!"

"Did we die?"

"No," said Snotlout grudgingly.

"Then quit your belly-aching and help me with these. We need to beat those hunter ships to port."

Grumbling, Snotlout retrieved the length of rope from a saddle pack and began untwisting it into thinner strands. Hiccup already had a hammer and chisel and was punching holes in the large plate size scales.

"Here, start tying these together," said Hiccup, tossing him the ones he'd already punched.

Snotlout picked one up and examined the crude holes running his finger over the rough edge. He frowned remembering his many hours spent preparing dragon scales for Sigyn. He spied a file in the tool kit next to Hiccup and taking it began to smooth out the edges of the punctured scales. It only took a pass or two and he worked in silence for several minutes. His thoughts drifted back to Sigyn. Was she okay? It had been two weeks since he left her on the porch that night. The memory of her soft lips on his cheek made his brain go momentarily fuzzy. He should just forget about it. It had been a mistake in the dark. That was all.

"Snotlout, what are you doing? We need to get these tied together."

He looked up to find Hiccup watching him curiously. In answer, he took a piece of thin rope and passed it through the hole of a scale he had not yet smoothed. Trapping the scale under his boot he pulled the ends of the rope back and forth slightly. It didn't take much pressure before the rope snapped, cut in two.

"The edges of the holes are too sharp and cut the ropes. We have to smooth them out or the armor will come apart mid flight."

Hiccup frowned. "That's going to take more time."

Snotlout shrugged. "It will be pointless if the armor all falls off. We can make up the time on the flight."

They worked in silence for a while, the piles beside them growing.

"Where did you learn how to work with scales?" asked Hiccup, pounding a stubborn scale.

Snotlout froze, unsure how to answer without revealing his friendship with Sigyn. Softer dragon hides were a common material for clothing but dragon scale tunics like his were few and far between. "It was part of the maintenance of this," he said, rubbing a hand over his chest.

"It's nice workmanship," said Hiccup.

"It is," he said, not meeting Hiccup's eye. "The tailor who made it gave me some extra scales in case one of these cracked or came loose. She… she had to show me how to prepare the scales."

"Oh," said Hiccup, an odd note in his voice. "Well… it's a good thing she did."

There was now a strange awkwardness in the air as they worked but Snotlout wasn't sure why. He glanced up at his cousin whose shoulders seemed more tense than normal.

"You okay? Sand crab crawl up your..?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine," said Hiccup too quickly. "All good here. Nothing's wrong. What would make you think that?"

Was it his imagination or did Hiccup suddenly look like a kid who got caught stealing sweets? But what did he have to feel guilty about? Hiccup glanced at him and then hastily returned to his work.

"We… we should get a move on. The others are waiting for us."

Hiccup was hiding something. He'd have to keep an eye on his cousin.

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Snotlout quickly read over his letter to Sigyn, satisfied he'd detailed everything about the new developments with the dragon hunters and Heather and Dagur. He still couldn't quite believe Heather had joined the dragon hunters. It seems so crazy. Only a few months ago she had been about to kill her brother and now she was working with him.

His and Hiccup's mission to rescue the others from the hunters had been a success and they had all returned to the Edge last night exhausted. They had crawled straight into bed but Snotlout had been awakened by a sudden weight on his feet. A T-mail dragon. At last, Sigyn had written him back.

He picked up the letter with her untidy scrawl and read it for what must have been the seventh time this morning.

"Hey Dragon Boy,

Is that how we're doing this? Using code names? Not very original, but I suppose it works. I'm so glad you're safe and yes, I did hear about the attack on Dragon's Edge. From several sources in fact. First, and most exuberantly, from Captain Gustav Larson who just couldn't wait to tell me all about the A-Teams daring rescue, then later that day from Shepherd Ingerman who came to visit again."

Snotlout's grip on the parchment tightened slightly but he read on.

"By the way, don't think I don't know why Gustave has suddenly started coming around. Very convenient timing that, don't you think? But really, even if I hadn't put two and two together I overheard Gustave bragging to the rooster how 'Snotlout had entrusted him with the care of his Lady Fair.' His words not mine. But were they your words? I wonder?

I finally got those stitches out and while my arm is not completely healed, it's doing much better. Please don't worry about me. Both me and Dad are doing fine. I can sew again! I have so much work to catch up on what with not being able to use my hand for so long, not the least of which is that I need to make a new night dress. My old one finally died the death, just started coming apart. But it was pretty old."

The memory of Sigyn in a very short and very revealing nightdress flashed into his mind. It had hung open just so as she'd leaned out the window towards him. He shook his head ruefully but was not quite able to banish the warmth in his chest and cheeks as he read on.

"The garden has been keeping me busy but it's growing well. Thank you so much for that irrigation system. It makes it so much easier to water everything. Too bad that won't work for the animals in the winter. I hate carrying the buckets of water back and forth in the cold. Oh! Shepherd says that we should be able to exchange Todd for another mother calf pair in a few weeks so we will have fresh milk on hand again. I've missed it!"

He unclenched his jaw when he heard his teeth squeak together. Shepard again?

"You know it's my birthday in a few weeks. I hope we get to see you by then at least. But if not that's okay. I'll just have to eat all the yak butter parfait by myself. Dad doesn't like the stuff, too creamy he says. Maybe if you're back we can go see if the berries are in season yet. I've run out of berry preserves. You and Hookfang can keep the boars away while I pick so I don't wind up in a tree again. If not, I promise to take a weapon with me, though I'm not sure what I could do against a whole drove of them.

Anyway, I don't want to bore you with my mundane stories. I look forward to seeing you when you visit next, whenever that is. I'll watch the skies for you and Hookfang. Hopefully by then my arm will be completely healed and you can take me flying. I admit, I miss the thrill. And yes before you ask, I miss you too. See you soon, hopefully.

Stitcher Girl.

PS. Have you run short on any first aid items I could try and send you some."

Snotlout glanced at his stash of first supplies. He was a bit short on the bruise cream and the stinging brown stuff for cuts but he had enough to last until he saw her again. He folded her letter and tucked it into one of the hidden pockets on the inside of his belt. He rolled up his own letter. Now to sneak up to the rookery and send it. It was still early morning and after yesterday's antics he wouldn't be surprised if everyone slept late. Thor, if they saw the twins before noon, Niffleheim might freeze over. So much the better for him. Even Hookfang had crashed in the stables where he had more room to sleep and move.

Snotlout took the zipline over to the main hub of the island. As he suspected, not a soul was awake. It was still pretty early, the sun's light just turning the eastern sky a pale pink. Stopping in the clubhouse for a cold chicken leg he began his climb up the rookery stairs. They really needed to come up with another way to get up here. His legs were burning by the time he reached the top.

Most of the Terrible Terrors were still sleeping and he looked around trying to find Sven, but no luck. Hiccup must have him out delivering something. Before he could make up his mind which dragon to wake, a small blue-green one approached him, sniffing at the remnants of the chicken leg in his hand. He let it tug the bone away and gnaw happily on it. If he remembered correctly this was the same dragon he'd use the past few times. He scooped the creature into his arms and fished the letter out of his pocket. After tucking the letter inside a leather pouch he tied it to the dragon's leg. By this point the dragon had finished with the chicken leg and was trying to lick the grease from his fingers. Pulling Sigyn's sock from his pocket he held it out for the dragon to sniff. A few seconds later the little dragon was on its way to Berk. Now to go crawl back into bed.

"Snotlout?" asked a voice behind him.

He spun around to find Astrid watching him, surprise plastered on her face.

"Astrid," he gasped, jamming Sigyn's sock in his pocket. "What… what are you doing up here?"

She raised her eyebrow and held up a parchment. "What else, sending mail to my family. That was a girl's sock. Who are you writing to?"

His mind scrabbled for any answer other than the truth. How could he have been so careless? Of course Astrid would be up this early, she always was, even after the crazy ordeal of yesterday. "Adele," he lied, hoping she would not hear the false note in his voice. "I was writing to Adele."

"Your sister?" asked Astrid, her brows drawn together. "But she's like ten. That can't have been her sock. It was too big."

Thor's pants! Of all the times, why did Astrid have to be here now? Any other time he would have seized the chance to be alone with her but today…

"She's got really big feet," he added lamely. Astrid raised an eyebrow. "All us Jorgensons do."

They both looked down at his feet which were not particularly large.

"You don't have to tell me Snolout," she said, climbing the last few steps into the rookery. "But I can tell you're lying."

Her words pinned him there. It had been an obvious lie. He watched awkwardly as she selected a dragon and sent her letter. He'd just about made up his mind to sneak away when Astrid spoke.

"Snotlout," she said. "Thanks."

He froze. Astrid thanking him? Yaks must be flying today. He folded his arms over his chest, suspicious.

"What for?" he carefully probed, his guard up.

"Helping me pressure Hiccup into training the A-Team." She straightened but didn't turn to look at him. "It means a lot to me to know that my family has protection."

He shifted uncomfortably. He'd had his own personal motives for that.

"Hiccup would have caved to you anyway," he pointed out.

"Yeah," she admitted, turning to face him with a small smile on her lips. "I suppose so, but it's nice to have someone else have my back."

"I could have your back more often," he offered sarcastically, "But you're typically so busy throwing me around my back's usually on the ground."

"Only because I know you can take it," she offered.

He wasn't sure if he should feel insulted or not. Astrid was usually sarcastic but she seemed oddly sincere today. It was mildly unnerving.

"Whatever," he said, huffing as he turned to leave but she stopped him once again.

"I was wrong," she said suddenly.

He spun to face her. "You're really freaking me out Astrid," he said, taking a step back.

She frowned watching the sun coming over the horizon. "When… the hunters took Stormfly, all I could think about was getting her back."

He waited, sensing there was more she wanted to say.

"When we thought Hookfang had gone feral, we… I suggested you take another dragon. What I said in the barn, to Hiccup… I was wrong."

He stood there watching her, shocked. No words came to mind so he simply nodded. They stood there in awkward silence for several long heartbeats.

"Come on," she said, at last breaking the spell. She punched his shoulder as she passed. "Come spar with me. No one else is up yet."

He hesitated. He really had been planning to go back to sleep, but a sparing session with Astrid was not without its own merits.

"Fine, but I'm not holding back just cuz you're a girl," he said, resisting the urge to rub his shoulder.

"You won't be able to hold back if you want to keep your butt out of the dirt," she shot back as she turned to jog down the stairs.

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The dirt was soft as Sigyn dug her trowel under the surface and pressed the handle down. The ground gave way and the white flesh of the tuber flashed to the surface. It was a nice big one. She pulled it out and added it to her satchel.

"I might be around a little less for a while," said Shepard. "Phyllis and Dagon have announced their intention to wed. I will be busy with Mr. Hofferson building their house."

"Well that's nice I bet," said Sigyn, only half paying attention as she looked for another cluster of promising leaves.

Shepherd sighed but she ignored it. Ever since the incident with the barn, Shepherd had made it a point to visit every few days, often bringing her things that Mrs. Ingerman might have otherwise brought. It had been a bit awkward at first because Shepard's visits always felt a bit stilted. She'd felt the urge to play host and his visits felt more like an interruption or intrusion then the easy affair it was whenever Snotlout came around. But when it became clear that Shepherd meant to keep coming around, she had given up the urge to go out of her way for him. When he showed up she would greet him politely and simply continue with whatever she had been doing. Today that meant he'd followed her out to the meadow while she dug tubers.

Not spying any promising plants in arms reach, she straightened, pushing her lower back forward to stretch it out. She glanced at Shepherd as he stepped carefully over a puddle. He'd grown a lot in the past four years. What was he, 22 years old now? She thought that was right. He was now a good four inches taller than her and while he had put on some muscle and a thin beard since apprenticing to Mr. Hofferson he was still tall and lanky compared to most of the island. His hair had darkened from almost white blonde to a shade closer to hers but his eyes were the same as ever, dark and brown and ever so serious.

"Sarah asked about you the other day," said Shepherd, following her as she searched the ground.

"And you told her what?" she asked bending to examine a promising spot under a tree.

"That you are well," he said.

"Well that was succinct," she said, unsure if he would pick up on her sarcasm. It had a tendency to bounce off the very pragmatic Shepherd Ingerman. "And how is Sarah?"

"Sarah is well."

Sigyn sighed and straightened. She missed Mrs. Ingerman's chatty visits. How Shepherd had come from such a woman was an unsolved mystery. A few words or a question to Mrs. Ingerman and the woman would fill the space with stories and gossip. Shepherd was more than lacking in this area.

"Does she have any kids? What's her husband do? Is she happy? How is she? Tell me about Sarah," she urged.

"Oh," said Shepherd, frowning and thinking a moment. "Two children, with another on the way. Trevon is a fisherman I believe. She and her family are healthy as anyone and in a word yes, she's happy."

"Two kids already," said Sigyn, with a whistle trying to remember the Sarah she had known so long ago.

Of all her childhood friends Shepherd was the only one she saw on occasion save for a spare glimpse around Snoggletog. It was strange to imagine the girl she'd known as a child with two kids and a swollen belly.

"When is she due?"

Shepherd shrugged. "She's about this big," he said, holding his hands in front of his stomach.

Finally spying what she was after Sigyn sank to her knees and pulled out her trowel. "And what about Mildred?" she asked, shoving her hands into the dirt at the base of the plant."

"What about her?"

She rolled her eyes. "Same questions Shepherd."

"Well she's only got one child last I heard, a boy I think. She and her husband moved to Outcast Island last year so I don't know much about her."

"Then what about Byron? Did he ever marry?"

Shepherd nodded. "To a girl from Outcast Island about the same time Mildred and her husband left, but I don't know her name. They have a new set of brunette twins."

Sigyn whistled. "Twins is quite a lot to handle." She added more roots to her bag. "What about the rest of the group?"

He thought for a moment before rattling off a list of people and their families. Succinct and to the point as ever.

"So they really are all married," said Sigyn, suddenly feeling old and somehow young at the same time. When had life passed her so thoroughly by?

"Everyone from the group except you and me," said Shepherd quietly.

She glanced up to find him watching her. "Well we know why I'm not married," she joked, as she brushed dirt from her knees and rose. "But why haven't you? Surely there is a Mrs. Shepherd Ingerman out there. I mean come on Shepherd, you're being outdone by Byron."

He studied her face for a moment before looking away, a calloused hand going to the back of his neck. "She is," he said quietly. "But I've wanted to earn my place in the village first. I want to give her the best I can."

"How's that?" she asked, grunting with effort as she tugged at a particularly stubborn root. "You already have a great position apprenticed to Mr. Hofferson. The village will always need skilled craftsmen."

"Perhaps, but I would be able to provide better for her next spring."

"Why is that?" she asked, smelling an odd looking root before throwing it over her shoulder.

"Because Mr. Hofferson will be stepping down next spring."

"Oh, I had no idea," she said, her excitement rising as she spotted a cluster of mushrooms. "Yes! I love these." She held them out for Shepherd to see.

He frowned and she hastily stuffed them in her bag.

"Anyway, congratulations!" she said, retrieving her trowel and straightening. "That's a pretty big step up. So who's the one you've been holding out for? Wait, it's not Phyllis Hofferson is it? She always watched you when we were kids."

It was his turn to sigh. "Phyllis Hofferson and Dagon Yorgenson have announced their intention to wed. The union feast is next week."

"That's an unusual pairing," she said, biting her lip and thinking. A Hofferson and a Jorgenson. "I suppose all the members of each clan will need to be present?"

He shrugged. "It is customary."

"Are you going?"

He nodded. "I have to be there to inspect and receive the matrimonial birch."

"Well that sounds like fun. I will look forward to it."

He frowned in confusion. "Look forward to it? Are you planning to attend?"

"Oh, no. No, no," she said, raising her hands. "I'm not going into town, or anywhere else until Snoggletog if I can avoid it."

"Then why would you be looking forward to it?" he asked, confused.

"Because," she said, digging a mushroom out of her pouch and popping it into her mouth with a smile. "That means Snotlout will be back in the area."

-------------

The axe was heavy in Snotlout's hands as Hookfang landed on the Isle of Frigga. Toothless and Stormfly touched down silently on either side of them. The sun had already set an hour ago along with Snotlout's hopes, slipping into the dark sea. His one job had been to bring the family's ceremonial axe to the union feast on time. He'd failed.

But where he'd expected to arrive to the anxious and angry faces of the union party all he found was the wreckage of a feast. There must have been a fight when he hadn't turned up with the axe on time. His heart sank further when he saw the silhouette of his father awaiting him on a small knoll overlooking the valley.

"Well tell him it was our fault," whispered Hiccup, appearing at his side with Astrid.

She nodded. "We can tell him we made you late."

He shook his head. He knew it wouldn't matter to his father why he was late, only that he was. "No, this was my fault. I got this."

His father didn't turn to face him even though he had undoubtedly hurt his approaching footsteps. He stopped a few paces behind his father and waited for the inevitable. But after the silence had drug on for a minute he couldn't keep the words from spilling out of him.

"Why don't you just say it already. I screwed up again. I'm late. I ruined the union feast. I let you and the Jorgensen's down."

He waited for his father to answer him. Still nothing. Only silence that drove him to speak more.

"Be angry if you want but you have no idea the trouble I had getting this stupid axe here. I risked my life and my friends' lives fighting a torch breathing dragon. I'm sorry I was late, but if that's not good enough for you, I guess I'm never going to be good enough. There I said it."

Still nothing. He'd expected his dad to react to that. He cautiously stepped forward and to the side so he could see his father's face in the moonlight. Spitelout's brows were drawn together in concentration as he surveyed the valley below muttering under his breath.

"Dad?" asked Snotlout. "Did you hear me? I'm sorry."

"27… 28… 20…" muttered his father.

"Dad?" he tried again, louder.

"Eh? Oh, Boy-o," replied his father, finally glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. "Thor," he cursed. "Lost count." He turned to face them.

"I said, I'm sorry I messed up the union feast," repeated Snotlout, unsure how much his father had heard.

"What are you going on about Boy-o? There's not going to be a union feast."

"What?"

"There's not?" asked Hiccup approaching.

"Thor no," said his father. "Before dinner could even begin a fight broke out. Something about a few of the casks of beer going missing. It's a good thing you didn't get here on time. Only would have made things worse and the axe would have been in danger."

"Yeah," said Hiccup awkwardly. "Wouldn't want that."

Snotlout shot him a glare.

"I take it, all this debris is from the fight?" asked Astrid, gesturing around them.

"Aye, and the boar's enclosure was broken during the fight," said his father, waving a hand toward the valley. "It'll be a bit of a pain to round them all up again."

"Do you want us to help," offered Hiccup.

"Naw, it's my responsibility," said his father, waving them off.

"Told you no Hofferson would marry a Jorgenson," whispered Astrid to him.

He ignored her.

"It's all a bit of a wasted trip and effort I'm afraid," said his father, clapping his hands together. "Still, knew I could count on you boy-o."

His father counted on him? Still?

"Anyway son, take the axe back to Berk if you would and watch over it. I'll get it from ya when I get back."

Snotlout looked up. A trip back to Berk? Back to Sigyn?

"You're planning to go back, aren't ya?" he asked the other two. "Your father will no doubt want to see you, and Astrid's family as well."

"We haven't really got that far…" started Hiccup hastily, looking worried for some reason. "We were…"

"No arguments," said his father. "Yer expected. Now off with you. I have boars to round up." And with this his father whistled for his dragon and set off down into the valley.

Had his father really just said that? That he'd counted on him. That's certainly not how it had come across yesterday morning when he'd arrived at the edge with the axe. But after everything, his dad still had faith in him. A warmth bubbled up in him, but somewhere in the mixture ran the icy thread of the fear of disappointment. His father had said that this time, but that was only because despite his colossal screw up, everything had still worked out. He didn't know that he'd almost lost the family's ceremonial axe. What if a fight hadn't broken out before the dinner and they'd all been left waiting on him to show up? His father had counted on him and he'd fallen short… again.

He looked down at the ornate axe that had brought him so much trouble. Wasted effort. He snorted. At least one good thing had come out of this trip. He was going back to Berk. He was going to see Sigyn. And suddenly he could not get back soon enough. He jogged over to Hookfang and after securing the axe to his saddle, mounted.

"Ah, Snotlout," called Hiccup. "Where are you going?"

He glanced down at his cousin, preoccupied. "I'm going to visit…" but he caught himself. His thoughts have been so flooded with his sudden desire to see Sigyn again that he had almost blurted out her name. "I have to take the axe back," he amended.

"Uh… ha ha," Hiccup chuckled nervously. "You don't need to go visit Berk. Why don't you let me take the axe back. Wouldn't you rather head back to the edge? Lots to get done."

"Hiccup," said Astrid, watching him with a hand on her hip. "It's the Jorgenson family Axe. No one outside the family is supposed to touch it, remember?"

Hiccup frowned. "Well maybe Snotlout can take it back another day. After all, one of us should go back to the Edge and help Fishlegs keep an eye on the twins. Wouldn't you rather go back to the Edge, Snotlout?"

Snotlout watched Hiccup suspiciously. He was doing that stammering thing he did when he was uncomfortable. Even Astrid was watching him squirm.

"I'm going home," he said simply. "You can do what you want Hiccup. Go back to the Edge if you want to avoid your dad so badly."

"It's not… I just… I think we… you should," stammered Hiccup.

"Quit being weird and get on Toothless," said Astrid, swinging into Stormfly's saddle. "Come on, we only have a three hour ride to Berk. I for one want a soft bed and food I didn't cook. Besides, the Edge is running low on some supplies. We can bring them back with us."

In moments both he and Astrid were off toward Berk, Hiccup stammering and calling after them.

----------------------

"Sigyn, wake up!"

It had been such a nice dream, all warm and floaty. The stick poking her ribs was decidedly not.

"Sigyn," called Snotlout's voice, followed by another prod from the stick. She groped for it in the dark and caught hold of the offending prop. She yanked it free.

"Snotlout," she grumbled, swinging out in the dark. "Why can't you just…"

But she never got to finish. Her stick made contact and there was an indignant roar, a squeal, and a sudden weight dropped on top of her stomach, driving all the air out of her lungs.

"Ow," groaned Snotlout, shifting on top of her, his elbow digging into her ribs. His hand slipped a bit higher than it should have before freezing and then jerking back.

"Snotlout," she hissed, trying to draw in a breath. "Stop… stop moving already."

He stilled above her. It was the dead of night and she blinked hoping for some light to reach her eyes but there was none. It had been overcast all day and apparently still was. Having gotten her breath back, she reached for the weight spread over her stomach, her fingers following the familiar figure until she found what she was after. Her fist wrapped around the horn of his helmet and she tugged.

"Hey! What are you doing?" he protested, squirming again.

"I don't want to put an eye out on your helmet in the dark," she said, shifting to put the helmet on the floor beside her bed.

"Oh."

She found his shoulder and pushed, shifting to sit up. From what she could tell he was mostly inside the window and after a few moments the rustling stopped and the bed stilled. She reached out, feeling for him, her fingers brushing what must have been his arm. He caught her hand in his.

"What are you doing now?" he grumbled.

"Just trying to figure out where you are."

"I'm right here," he said, his tone exasperated, though he didn't let go of her hand.

"Yes, but why did you come tumbling through my window in the dead of night?"

"Because you poked Hookfang in the eye with a stick," he accused.

"Oh. Well why were you waking me up with a stick?"

"Because last time I woke you up I got a bloody nose."

He let go of her hand and she could almost hear him crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sorry," she said. It was quite a moment. "What's with you waking me up in the middle of the night anyway?"

"I just got back," he said. "I wanted to see you."

"Fat chance in the dark," she said.

"I mean I want to take you somewhere, to show you something."

"It couldn't have waited for morning?"

"I didn't really think about the time," he said quietly. "Besides, it will take a bit of time to get there."

"Get where?"

"If you want to know you have to come with me," he said, his voice teasing then more serious. "That is if we can get Hookfang back. I'm not sure how far he went."

She was quiet for a moment, letting him wonder and squirm. "Okay, fine, but you have to get out of here so I can change."

"Why? I can't see anything anyway."

"Snotlout."

"Fine, fine." The bed creaked. "I can't see Hookfang or the tree to climb down."

"Then use the door muttonhead," she said, standing and feeling her way towards the chest that held her clothing; at least all her clean clothing.

"Yeah, well, I can't see the door either," he grumbled. The bed squeaked.

"But you know where it is," she said, pulling on a pair of pants under her night dress. "Just feel around. It's closed. It's not like you will fall down the stairs."

Her words were met with a clatter, a thud, and a half whispered curse.

"No, I'll only fall over everything on my way to the door," he accused.

"Sorry," she said, slipping her feet into her boots. "That was my sewing bag."

"Yeah, the pins told me as much," he groaned. "Why are you such a clutter bug?"

"Why are you such a neat freak," she retorted, snatching up a tunic.

"Hey, at least I can find my way around my room in the dark without surprises," he hissed.

"All right, all right, relax. The door is just ahead," she said, tugging her night dress over her head. "There should be a little fire in the hearth downstairs still so we can see once you open it. Hang on and I will…"

The doorknob squeaked and the door swung open, a soft light sweeping into the room. His silhouette appeared in the doorway. "Sigyn?" he asked, his face turning to find her.

"Hey," she gasped, jerking her tunic up in front of her chest.

His breath sucked in sharply before the door was pushed shut with a loud thud.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, his voice cracking in the dark.

"I was getting dressed," she said, tugging her tunic on and fastening the straps.

"You told me to get out first."

"Yeah, well, as you pointed out, it was dark and I knew where my clothes were. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean there's not a method to my madness."

"I still can't see anything," he groused.

"Funny," she said, teasing. "I was under the impression you saw and touched more than enough."

It was quiet for a long awkward moment

"You do realize your father is probably listening to everything we say," he whispered.

It was her turn to go silent.

"Yeah," she stammered, her cheeks heating. "Well…"

"Would you two just go already," came a voice from the floor. "I for one would rather be asleep. Snotlout, I've known you were here since before Hookfang landed. There's no need to sneak my daughter out her window. In the future just knock on the front door. You'll wake me either way."

They were all silent for what felt like eternity.

Snotlout sighed. "Are you ready to go?" His voice was resigned.

"Yeah let's go," she said, hastily crossing the distance between them and opening the door.

They rushed down the stairs in the soft glow from the hearth and out onto the porch. Snotlout gave a low rumbling whistle and Hookfang's tail burst into flame from across the yard. Apparently he had not gone far. They hurried over and in minutes were soaring above Berk in the chilly night air.

"Do I get to know where we are going yet?" she asked over her shoulder as the few lights Berk began to wink out below them.

"Nope," he said, reaching around her to pull back on Hookfang's horns, guiding them up into a cloud. She shrank back against him, shivering as the wall of mist hit her. He chuckled and scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her.

"Cold?"

"Why are we flying through a cloud?" she complained, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. She turned her head trying to see anything other than the glow of Hookfang's nose ahead of them.

"We have a ways to go and if you fly under the low clouds you risk flying through a downpour, especially in the dark. Besides," he said as they broke through and soared up into the clear night sky. "You can see so much better up here."

The half moon hung just over the clouds to their right, the stars winking all around them. "That is a pretty good view," she admitted, shivering.

"Turn the heat up Fangster," called Snotlout, tugging gently on Hookfang's horn. Instantly more heat radiated from Hookfang. "How's your arm?"

"If you had shook me awake you would know," she teased.

"Haha," he said darkly. "There's a reason I used a stick. You have a mean punch."

"Sorry," she said, shifting back into him more.

"You still cold?"

"Yeah," she said. "I should have let you sit in front so you could be my windbreaker. But then I would be worried about falling off."

"Hang on." He bent sideways and rummaged in his saddle bag and pulled out something dark and flexible. She jumped as something soft and heavy slid around her front and over her shoulders. "That better?" he asked, scooting up behind her again.

She let her fingers run over what she could only guess was some sort of fur. It was unfamiliar. Yak fur was coarse and curly but this was straight and smooth. "What is this?"

"Wolf pelt," he said, poking his head over his shoulder, his hair flying around his face. "Sorry if it's a bit smelly. It's the first large hide I've tanned."

She dug her fingers into the soft fur. "It's nice. Where did you get it?"

"I caught it back on the Edge."

"You were out hunting a wolf?"

"Sort of. I was hunting for what attacked and bit Tuffnut. Crazy guy thought he was bitten by a lycanwing and was doomed to turn into a dragon with the full moon."

"He really believed that?"

"Well," he said abashedly, "He may have had help coming to that conclusion."

"You?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"Mostly it was Gobber's stories, but I may have pushed it a bit too far. You never know what the twins will latch onto. Anyway, he was sure he was a goner. Crazy loon even started willing out his stuff like he was dying. Ruffnut was getting really worried about him so what does she do? She starts collecting animals to compare their bite marks to the one on Tuffnut trying to prove what bit him."

"But how could she compare the bite marks just from looking at the animals?" she asked.

"That's the thing. She kept sneaking up and making them bite me and then comparing the marks."

"You can't be serious," she accused.

"She did," he said, pulling a bracer from his arm so she could see the old yellow green bruises surrounding the healing scabs.

Anger bubbled up inside her. "I can't believe she would do that!"

"Believe it," he said grimly, replacing the bracer. "She blamed me for Tuff thinking he was a lycanwing. Anyway, after I caught her sneaking up on me with what I'm fairly certain was a poisonous sea snake, I'd had enough. I knew if I wanted Ruffnut off my back I'd have to find out what got Tuff. I already had a pretty good idea what it was though."

"How's that?"

"I was bitten by a dog as a kid. Still have the scar on my left calf. I just needed the proof."

"But you could have been hurt."

He shrugged. "Maybe, but if I was right and we had a wolf that was willing to attack someone once, it would do it again. It didn't take long for him to find me big and dark as he was. Once I had my proof, I found Tuffnut and showed him the carcass. Not a moment too soon apparently because Tuff had been about to jump off a cliff convinced he would fly away."

"That's crazy," she said, shaking her head.

"That's just life with the twins around. At least I got a nice pelt out of it."

"I suppose," she said, unconvinced. It was quiet for a moment.

"Thor's boots," cursed Snotlout.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot my helmet, and my hair keeps blowing in my face."

"Sorry," she said, glancing back to watch his hair fall across his eyes again. "It's getting longer."

"No kidding," he grumbled, sweeping it back out of his face. It only blew back a moment later.

"We could braid it back," she suggested. He wrinkled his nose. "Just your bangs. It will keep it out of your face."

"Fine," he agreed, after sweeping it uselessly out of his face again. "But I don't know how you're going to reach."

She bit her lip. "I could turn around," she suggested, her words sounding more like a question. "But you have to hold onto me while I shift. Around the waist so I don't fall."

"You sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're not afraid?"

"A bit," she admitted. "But you said it was a long flight."

"About two hours."

"Let's try it at least."

He nodded and a moment later his hands were on either side of her waist. Slowly she lifted one leg up and over the saddle and then pulled the other one between them, using the saddle and his shoulders as a support.

"Alright?" he asked, once she had settled.

"Yeah, bend your head down." He did and she quickly braided his bangs backward. "Is that better?"

He sat up and shook his head but his hair stayed out of his face. "Much, but I still want my helmet back."

"I'll get it for you when we get back."

They were quiet for a moment. "So what are you doing back on Berk anyway," she asked, pulling the wolf pelt back over her shoulders. "I thought you were supposed to be at a union feast tonight."

"How did you hear about that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even I only found out about it yesterday morning."

"Shepherd told me last week."

Snotlout stiffened and he leaned further away from her. "Shepherd Ingerman?"

"Apparently he and Mr. Hofferson were commissioned to build the new house."

"Shepherd come around often does he?" asked Snotlout, a bitter note in his tone. He folded his arms over his chest but wouldn't look at her.

"Every couple days," she said cautiously. She should have guessed he'd be jealous. "He's been bringing things from Mrs. Ingerman along with some spare milk from their yak Milly. We still haven't been able to find a cow calf pair to trade for Todd."

Snotlout remained silent another few heartbeats, but she could see his shoulders sink a bit when he spoke again. "You like having Shepherd visit so often?"

She would have to be careful of how and what she said.

"Help me turn around again," she said. "It's hard to balance backward."

Without words he helped her turn around though he didn't scoot closer to close the distance between them once she was settled.

"To answer your question," she started, "I suppose a break from the monotony can be nice, but if truth be told… I preferred it when Mrs. Ingerman visited."

She glanced over her shoulder to see some of the tension leech out of him.

"Why is that?" he questioned, his tone suspicious.

"Shepherd is not a big talker," she said with a chuckle. "He's nice and all and very practical but getting news from him is more like pulling teeth. Mrs. Ingerman, on the other hand, is a natural gossip. She used to be my main source of news from the village. Actually I'm surprised Shepherd even told me about the wedding. I suppose it's only because it has to do with his work."

It was silent for another long beat before Snotlout leaned closer to her. "Well, he can forget about building that house now," he said, reaching around her to steer Hookfang to the side slightly.

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"Because of this," said Snotlout, reaching down to his saddle pack. He lifted out a gleaming ornate axe. He scooted up close behind her and brought the axe around in front of her so she could see it.

"Know what this is?" he asked.

"An axe," she said, reaching to trace her fingers over the designs on the handle. He snorted and caught her hand before she could touch it.

"It's house Jorgenson's ceremonial axe," he corrected.

She sucked in a small breath and tried to pull her hand back but he held it firm.

On Berk, when a courting couple wanted to move forward with a wedding, they announced their intention to wed to their families and the union feast was planned. The feast took place on the Isle of Frigga and all members of both families and a representative from the chief's clan were invited to attend. The food and drink were provided by the bride-to-be's family.

The ceremonial axe was used by the groom-to-be to cut down the matrimonial birch and the wood from the birch was used in the construction of the couple's new home and the matrimonial bed. Naturally, the larger the birch the more virile the groom was assumed to be. The groom could pick any birch on the Isle of Frigga he wanted. The only caveat was the groom's task was to be completed during the union feast. The feast began when the bride-to-be took her first bite and ended when the last drop of beer was swallowed.

The groom-to-be's house also had a task to complete beforehand. The head of the house was to demonstrate their family's sincerity by singlehandedly catching and then displaying wild boars at the union feast. If the wedding took place the boars would become the main dish of the wedding feast which fed the whole village after the wedding ceremony. If all tasks were completed to both houses' satisfaction, the couple was then betrothed to be wed, and construction on the house and bed began. The wedding took place once construction was finished.

Sigyn stared down at the axe in Snotlout's hand. It was rare to see a ceremonial axe because they always resided with the head of each clan. In the case of the Jorgensen's, that was Snotlout's father. The axe was only to be handled by the head of the clan, the groom-to-be, and the axe bearer who stood in place for the head of the clan and was seen as the second most powerful male member of the family.

"You're the axe bearer," she said in awe. "That's amazing. It's an incredible honor."

To her surprise he snorted in derision. "You'd think so wouldn't you," he said bitterly. "Apparently I'm only Dad's third choice and that's just because the other two options were missing or too crippled to hold the axe."

"Are you serious?" she asked, offended. "How did you even find that out?" It wasn't something that was usually considered a polite discussion topic as the decision rested solely with the head of each clan.

"Because Dad told me when he brought the axe to the edge during training yesterday." There was definite resentment in Snotlout's voice now.

Sigyn winced. "He told you while you were at training?"

Snotlout nodded stiffly.

"With all the other riders around?"

"Yeah," he said with a weary sigh, slumping.

They were quiet for a long moment, his free hand still holding hers. She squeezed his fingers in reassurance and he looked up at her. He held her gaze for a long moment and then guided her hand to the hilt of the axe.

"Here," he said, letting go so the full weight of it rested in her hands. She glanced back over her shoulder at him, startled.

"I shouldn't," she said, trying to hand it back but Snotlout leaned back, his hands supporting his weight behind him. "Snotlout, it's your family's axe! I'm not allowed. Won't you get in trouble?"

He snorted. "Just add it to the list of things I did wrong today. At least this time it's intentional."

She glanced at him in question, still uneasy.

"That axe," he said pointing, "was welded to the back of a torch-breathing dragon yesterday."

"What?" she asked, shocked, trying to turn to face him.

"Yep, and I still managed to get it back without anyone else touching it but me. If you don't count the dragons anyway."

"What happened?"

He met and held her eyes before looking away. "I dropped it while we were flying to the Isle of Frigga."

She gripped the axe tighter.

"By the time we found it, so had an Armor Wing Dragon."

"A what?"

"Big dragon that welds chunks of metal to its body because it has no natural armor," he said, waving a hand in the air carelessly. "Because it took so long to get the axe back, Hiccup, Astrid, and I were all late to the union feast."

"What happened? What did your Dad…"

Snotlout snorted angrily and sat up straight.

"He didn't care! Hiccup and Astrid could have died, I could have died getting that stupid axe back and my Dad didn't even care. He was too busy counting escaped boars to even listen. I don't even think he noticed we were late."

"What about the union feast?"

"It never even started, apparently a fight broke out before it could."

"At least your Dad wasn't angry."

Snotlout let out a great sigh. "Honestly, I think I would have preferred he was. At least then I would know that he ca…" but he fell quiet, the unfinished word hanging heavy in the air.

She watched him for a long moment before her back protested and she turned forward again.

"Anyway," said Snotlout, leaning forward to reach around her again. "That's how I know Shepherd Ingerman won't be building any houses for the Jorgenson clan anytime soon."

He leaned forward with a big sigh, his forehead coming to rest against the back of her shoulder.

They were quiet a beat. "Do you want your axe back?" she offered, holding it higher.

"Why?" he asked, raising his head so his chin was on her shoulder. "Don't you like holding my mighty axe."

She groaned. "That was terrible."

He chuckled and put his head back down.

"Besides," she continued. "It's your family's axe, and that's… just weird."

"Still don't want it back," he grumbled, his voice muffled by the fur. "You hold on to it. I've been dealing with it all day. Never again if I'm concerned."

"Never?" she prompted. "What about your harem?"

He sighed but didn't raise his head. "Fine. But only when I'm the swinger, not the bringer."

"Come up with that all on your own?"

"Hey, I can be clever when I wanna be."

She laughed. "I know. Tell me about what happened since I last saw you. Letters are great and all but you always tell it better in person."

At this Snotlout straightened and eagerly began to describe his time away from Berk. By the time he had finished the eastern sky was beginning to lighten, clear and empty, the sun peeking over the horizon. Snotlout began to guide Hookfang into a gentle descent angling toward an island below.

"So, what's so special about this place?" she asked, carefully leaning sideways to get a better view.

"Wait and see," he said, grinning and pulling her back up straight. "Or should I say wait and taste."

Several short minutes later they landed in a large swampy meadow. Snotlout dismounted and took the axe and wolf pelt, stowing them back in his saddle pack. She slid off Hookfang and the ground beneath her squished. Snotlout held a large bag out to her and she took it.

"And this is for?" she asked skeptically.

He grinned. "You haven't figured it out yet?"

She shook her head confused.

"Close your eyes and don't move," he prompted.

She scowled at him.

"Just trust me."

She closed her eyes and waited. He squelched away from her, paused, and then squelched back again. She jerked back when his fingers touched her lips but didn't open her eyes.

"Relax Sigyn. Open your mouth."

"If you stick a bug in my mouth you're going to need medical supplies," she warned before complying.

He chuckled and pushed something smooth and round past her lips and into her mouth. "Chew."

She rolled the object around in her mouth a moment before she bit down. Sweet juice popped in her mouth.

"Blueberry?" she asked, her eyes popping open.

"Happy early 20th birthday," he said, gesturing around them. The entire meadow was populated with heavily laden bushes.

---------------------------

Snotlout's boots still squished with every step, but today he didn't care. His belly was full to bursting with blueberries as were the three large sacks he and Sigyn had brought back. It had taken the better part of the morning to fill them and it was now mid-afternoon as he and Sigyn walked to the house having left Hookfang in the meadow to wallow in the pond.

"What are you going to do with them all," he asked, scooping a handful of berries out of one of his sacks. He popped a few in his mouth.

"Nothing if you eat them all," she scolded, elbowing him. "Haven't you had enough by now? You're going to be sick."

He shrugged. There was always room for blueberries.

"I'll turn some into jam," she said thoughtfully. "And probably dry the rest for use until next fall. They make good snacks and taste great in baked goods."

"You could flavor the yak butter parfait," he suggested. She still hadn't quite perfected the parfait but he enjoyed eating all her attempts anyway.

She nodded. "I could. Of course you won't be here so I'll have to let you know how it tastes. I wonder if Gustave likes parfait?"

"Not fair," he said, scowling.

"Hey, you opened that door when you assigned him to visit. Now he still comes around about once a week."

"I could stop him," he suggested.

"It's okay," she said, waving her free hand. "I get less eggs, but Dad has someone to talk to… or at least someone who talks to him."

"Fine, but you can't give him the parfait though," he said seriously. "That's for me."

She rolled her eyes. "Greedy much?"

"A bit," he admitted, as they rounded the corner of the house and the porch came into view.

"Finally back I hear," called Mr. Helvig from inside the house.

Guilt washed through Snotlout as he realized that neither he nor Sigyn had been around all morning to help him. He should have thought it through before just whisking Sigyn off for the better part of the day. He glanced at Sigyn, ready to take her bag from her so she could aid her father, but she looked unconcerned.

"We have three huge sacks of blueberries," she called cheerfully. "How was your morning?"

"Uneventful," said Mr. Helvig's voice as an odd scraping, crunching noise filled the house. Snotlout froze listening. The sound advanced through the kitchen and without aid or support Mr. Helvig appeared in the front doorway. "All save the night intruder who fell in through the window, that is. Hello, Snotlout."

Snotlout stared in disbelief. There sat Mr. Helvig in a chair on the front porch. How had Mr. Helvig… and then he spied it. The chair was no ordinary chair. Attached to either side were large wheels. A mobile chair?

The silence dragged on as Snotlout's brain tried to catch up. Mr. Helvig's smile dropped and he gripped the wheels and pushed himself forward stopping at the top of a shallow ramp that now led up to the porch.

"Snotlout?" asked Mr. Helvig. "Are you well?"

"How did you…" but the question died on his lips as the only possible answer filled his mind. He recognized that handy work. He ought to. He'd been around it every day for years now. A hot churning beast clawed at the inside of his chest but he clamped it down tight. Not yet. He turned and without a word he set the bags of blueberries down and started walking towards town.

"Oh dear," came Mr. Helvig's quiet voice. "I was afraid of this."

"Snotlout?" called Sigyn behind him. There was fear in her voice but he didn't stop. "Where are you going?"

"Hiccup."

------------------------------

Hiccup had always found refuge in tinkering. It soothed his raw nerves and blocked out his worries, if only temporarily. Usually, but today it simply was not enough. There was a storm coming and he knew it. It had been looming for over a month now. He'd tried to put it off as long as he possibly could, even delaying the supply run to Berk. But then the botched union feast had drawn not only Snotlout but also himself back to Berk at the same time. Back to Sigyn Helvig. There had been nothing he could do except await his cousin's wrath, for wrath there would certainly be.

Thus resigned, he'd made his report to his father and come to the most obvious place. The forge. Funnily enough, despite the impending visit, Hiccup had still been drawn to his tinkering. And the subject of his tinkering of all things was improvements for Mr. Helvig's chair. Ever since his visit to the Helvig's and his subsequent hasty inventions, his mind had been flooded with improvements and tweaks that he could implement. So he sat here digging himself deeper into his proverbial grave.

But it was now past midday and he began to wonder if Snotlout would ever show up. Surely he'd been to see Sigyn. He'd been sure that's where Snotlout would head first despite the hour of their arrival. By now, he'd almost convinced himself that everything was fine. Maybe Snotlout didn't care. Everything would blow over without any trouble at all.

Toothless gave a low warning growl outside the forge where he had been sleeping. Then again, maybe not. Hiccup had known his dragon would hear Snotlout coming.

"Easy," he said, laying down his hammer and going to pat Toothless. "It's okay, everything will be fine bud. Go back to the house and wait for me." Toothless gave him a baleful look and a reluctant grumble but lumbered off in the direction of his house.

Hiccup retreated back into the forge and gathered his notes and papers, stuffing them into his bag out of sight. No need to add fuel to an inferno. He surreptitiously gathered all the tools near the doorway and placed them at the far end of the room. Perhaps his cousin would not be in a mood to throw things, but it was better not to take that chance. All the while the anxious knot in his chest grew and tightened.

He vaguely toyed with the idea of grabbing a small weapon just in case, but before he could decide if he should or what it should be, heavy footsteps stomped into the forge. Hiccup froze and turned to face the doorway. Behind him Snotlout stood, glaring dragon fire at him, his meaty hands at his side, clenching and unclenching. But despite the anger rolling off his cousin, Hiccup could not help but wonder at one thing. Where was Snotlout's helmet and why were his bangs braided back out of his face.

"Ha… hey Snotlout," he said in a completely unconvincing facsimile of normalcy. Nothing about this was normal, except that once again he was at loggerheads with his cousin.

"I thought I told you to mind your own Thorking business Hiccup Haddock," growled Snotlout.

"Uh…" he started, trying not to stare at the little braid on top of Snotlout's head.

"I thought I told you to leave it be," roared his cousin, advancing on him like a storm cloud.

"L…let me explain," he stammered, backing into the workbench behind him, his fingers searching in vain for something, anything.

"And now I find out you've been sneaking around behind my back!" Snotlout was in his face now, their noses almost touching

"I didn't intend to…. I wasn't trying to sneak around."

"I told you to stay out of my business!" roared Snotlout, grabbing his shirt front.

Hiccup raised his empty hands. "The Helvig's aren't your business," he said slowly and quietly. "They're people."

Snotlout's blue eyes flicked back and forth between his own. Finally, his cousin snorted and let him go, stepping back. "You think I don't know that. I knew that before anyone else remembered to think of them."

"I know that," he said, straightening his shirt as Snotlout began to pace like a trapped dragon. Too bad he wasn't as easy to tame as one. "But that doesn't mean it needs to stay that way."

"You shouldn't have been there in the first place," shot Snotlout. "Why were you out there?"

"You had been vanishing for days," started Hiccup. "No one knew where you were. You returned more exhausted than anyone. You wouldn't talk to me. You refused orders to go back to the edge. I thought you might be in some sort of trouble."

"You mean you thought I was causing some sort of trouble," accused Snotlout.

Hiccup shook his head. "Not this time, not until I heard you were taking your dragon to see a girl who's afraid of them."

"She's not afraid of Hookfang. Not anymore," said Snotlout with an angry wave.

"I know. I just… I wanted to make sure you were doing okay. You looked like Odin's horse had dragged you through Nifelheim."

"I was fine. I didn't need your help," growled Snotlout.

"Well I couldn't have known that till I found out what you were up to."

"How did you even find me," asked Snotlout. "If Gustave breathed so much as a word…"

"It wasn't Gustave, okay. It was my dad. I had no idea where you were. Your mom seemed to know but wouldn't say anything. The only clue I had was from Gobber saying the last time he saw you, you said something about the Helvigs. I wasn't even sure what Helvigs meant until I told my dad. He knew who they were."

"You still didn't need to go see them," said Snotlout, but Hiccup could tell that some of the rage was burning off, leaving embarrassment in its place. Embarrassment and to his surprise, fear.

Hiccup sighed. "It was me or my dad. Once I brought them up, he was determined to go check on them. I wanted to see for myself, so I told him I would go instead."

"And now what, you're just going to blabber to everybody."

"If I'd wanted to tell anyone, I've had weeks to do it. My dad asked how they were, of course."

"And you told him everything?"

"No," he said calmly. "My dad wanted to know if they needed anything, to be sure they were taken care of."

"And you told him what?" asked his cousin suspiciously.

"I told him they were doing fine. There wasn't a need to tell him more. Actually, he was too busy being thrilled. He thought I was taking an interest in his chief duties."

Snotlout snorted. "Fat chance."

Hiccup shrugged. "Look I get that you're angry, but isn't it better this way? Now I know why it's so important to you. I can help you. We can work with this."

Snotlout's head snapped up and the fire was back in his eyes.

Loki, he'd said something wrong again. But what exactly?

"I don't want you to have anything to do with it," Snotlout growled. "I was doing just fine without you and your stupid metal leg and your crazy inventions."

Hiccup froze. His metal leg? His inventions? Some old memory of Outcast Island slid into place in his brain with a thunk. Snotlout was angry that he'd found out about his visits to the Hellvigs, but while he was not completely clear on why yet, he was not surprised. He especially understood why he was afraid of the others finding out about it. But another piece of the puzzle slotted into place. In building the chair for Mr. Helvig, he had, at least in Snotlout's estimation, up staged his cousin's efforts. Despite nearly a year of Snotlout's work and care, especially after saving Sigyn and all the efforts to rebuild the barn, Hiccup had come in and done the one thing Snotlout couldn't, effortlessly outdoing him… again.

It was the old resentment, refueled and returned. He'd known Snotlout resented him for a long time after he'd tamed Toothless. He had tamed and ridden a dragon. No one else had done that before. Not only that, he'd helped Snotlout tame Hookfang. For once, Hiccup had been better at everything. Which was ridiculous because before Toothless, Hiccup had been the butt of everyone's jokes. But reminding Snotlout of that was pointless.

Still, Snotlout had worked hard and become a great rider and the resentment had mostly faded as the scales had rebalanced. But now, not only had Hiccup pried into Snotlout's personal affairs… he'd upended them. No wonder Snotlout was so angry. Hiccup shook his head.

"That wasn't my intention," he said under his breath.

"What?" snapped, Snotlout, glaring at him .

"I'm sorry," he said, looking his cousin in the eye.

Snotlout's gaze flicked over his face, the fire in his eyes dulling to suspicion.

"You're right. I should have just taken your word for it and left well enough alone."

Snotlout watched him for several long moments, his arms folding over his chest, unsure. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked at last, sinking to sit on an empty crate.

Hiccup shrugged. "Why would I? I knew it would only upset you and that you would find out eventually."

"So you're not going to tell anyone?"

"Not unless it puts someone in danger."

"You talk about this and you'll be missing teeth," threatened Snotlout, but while Hiccup was sure he meant it, the fight was gone from his tone.

"Look, I get why you haven't said anything about the Helvigs to anyone, especially to the other riders, but is it really fair or even safe to let people keep forgetting about them? No one but you thought to check on them when Dagur attacked. Don't you see that as a problem?"

Snotlout sighed. "Of course I've thought of that, but what am I supposed to do, walk through the village and remind people that the Helvigs exist?"

"No," said Hiccup carefully. "But maybe it would be okay if Sigyn had more friends than just you."

"I'm not keeping her from making friends," grumbled Snotlout.

"Then what are you even doing here? Why are you so angry with me?"

Snotlout was quiet for a long moment, his arms over his chest, thinking.

"I'm not trying to take her from you," pressed Hiccup. "All I saw was a man who couldn't help his daughter when she was in danger, and a daughter who couldn't take care of her father while she was injured. I just… I knew how to give him back some autonomy and I couldn't not help."

"So what, are you friends now?" asked Snotlout.

"Well we're not enemies," he said.

"Are you going to go back?"

"I was planning to, yes. I thought of some alterations for Mr. Helvig's chair."

Snotlout snorted. "Can't just leave well enough alone can you."

Hiccup shrugged. "If I don't get my ideas out into the physical world they keep me up at night."

His cousin watched him for several long moments, chewing the inside of his cheek. Hiccup watched him back.

"Is that why you're here now?"

He nodded. "I redesigned the wheels so the grip won't constantly be getting dirty." It was quiet for another few moments. And then Snotlout surprised him.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Hiccup froze.

"Thank you," Snotlout repeated. "Sigyn may not say it but I know it's been a huge relief to her this past month."

"No problem," he said, shrugging, uncomfortable.

"Are you finished with them?" asked Snotlout, pointing to the wheels stuffed behind his bag.

"Yeah. I was kind of waiting for you before I went back to Helvig's."

Snotlout stood. "Let's go then. I have to get Hookfang anyway."

Hiccup grabbed the new wheels and followed his cousin out the door.

They left the forge and walked in uncomfortable silence through the village in the direction of the Hellvigs. He carried a wheel in each hand, hefting them higher when they slipped. By the time they had reached the small path through the forest Hiccup was regretting having sent Toothless away. His leg was catching again and the wheel on that side kept bumping into it, throwing him off center. He'd just bent over to try and get a better grip on the wheel when Snotlout walked over and wordlessly took both wheels from him before continuing down the path.

"Thanks," he said, catching up.

"You were going too slow," said Snotlout, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. But as they continued Hiccup didn't notice them going any faster.

"Is it true you take Sigyn flying on Hookfang?"

Snotlout nodded. "I took her out last night."

"How does that work with her being afraid of dragons?"

"She's not afraid of Hookfang anymore."

Hiccup whistled. "Of all the dragons to choose not to be afraid of, I would not pick Hookfang. How did that even happen?"

Snotlout shrugged. "In the beginning she couldn't stand to be around him and I had to leave him in the meadow."

"So what changed?"

"Hookfang I guess. He dotes on Sigyn. He was very gentle with her all while still pushing her farther each time."

"Hookfang gentle?"

"Remember the baby monstrous nightmares? He's a big dope for the right person."

"Hard to imagine, he's always fighting with you."

"Yeah, with me," said Snotlout. "But he's really only a stubborn yak for me."

"Part of what makes you a good match then," he said, grinning.

"Ha ha," said his cousin dryly, hefting the wheels up on his shoulders. "Yuk it up toothpick. I'd like to see you handle him any better. You have a Night Fury. I'll trade you any day of the week."

"Would you really?"

"No."

"Why not?" he asked, surprised.

"I'd have to start all over with Sigyn to get her to go flying with me," said Snotlout with a grin.

They emerged into Helvig's yard. Mr. Helvig was out by the barn, pushing his way towards them.

"Glad to hear you've come back, Snotlout," said the man, stopping in front of them. "And welcome back Hiccup Haddock."

Hiccup nodded his head in thanks and then remembered he couldn't see him. "Thank you, Mr. Helvig."

"No, thank you. It's been wonderful to have this freedom back."

"I brought some upgrades if you'd like," he said. "I wanted to hear how the chair has been working. And what hasent"

"Well…" began Mr. Helvig, but he was cut short by a cry from the house.

Sigyn came dashing around the side of the house and Hiccup took a step back from his cousin as she rushed past. There was a thump and a whoosh of air as Sigyn all but threw herself around Snotlout in a bone crushing hug.

Startled, Snotlout dropped the wheels and glanced over at him in panic. Hiccup shrugged.

"She's been worried since you stormed off earlier," said Mr. Helvig, helpfully.

Sigyn released Snotlout only to jab two fingers into his rib cage, making him jump away. "Don't do that again," she growled at his cousin. "You scared me. I didn't know if you were coming back, or if you're mad at me, or what."

"I wasn't mad at you," said Snotlout, sending a short lived glare his way.

"Have you returned in one piece, Hiccup?" inquired Mr. Helvig.

"All the pieces I have left," he said.

"I didn't pummel him if that's what you're asking," said Snotlout, brushing a hand over his hair and then freezing. "Sigyn, can I have my helmet back now?"

"Yeah, I'll grab it," she said, turning. "It's still up on the floor by my bed."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at Snotlout who still had his hand clamped over the braid in his hair.

"Come inside, boys," called Mr. Helvig, rolling towards the house.

Hiccup stepped closer to his cousin. "By her bed?" he whispered. "And what's with the braid? Do I need to be worried about you dropping out of the dragon riders to raise a…"

Snotlout clamped a heavy hand over his mouth, glaring at him, his eyes darting between him and Mr. Helvig. Hiccup couldn't help but grin.

"He's blind Hiccup," he hissed. "Not deaf. So shut up already."

"Very much not deaf," called Mr. Helvig ahead of them.

Hiccup grimaced as Snotlout glared at him even more.

"Sorry," he mouthed silently.

"And Snotlout, the answer to Hiccup's question had better be, and remain, no. While I would love an armful of grandbabies someday, all good things in their proper time."

Hiccup wasn't sure he'd ever seen Snotlout so red.

------------------------

Oh my Thor. That is chapter 12. It's a whopper. Let me know what you thought of it. Should I cut any scenes when I come back through and edit the book? Also, readers of HTTYD fandom... how have you seen other authors deal with wedding traditions on Berk. Its been a long time since I actually read HTTYD and I'm curious to know where my ideas overlap with other authors, because I'm sure they do. Send me a link with stories that you like with fun Berk weddings. What was your favorite part of the chapter? Hopefully it has been worth the wait. Happy New Year and thanks again for coming back and reading.