Chapter 3: Vacation *Edited*

                                    

                                          
Valka woke early in the morning by the sound of terrors shouting in the distance. The woman looked down, and in her arms lay her son, Hiccup. His head lolled against her shoulder and his arms sat loosely around Valka's waist. A smirk crawled its way onto the woman's lips, she had held her son, all night, for the first time in twenty years. Although the circumstances weren't the most pleasant, Valka still loved feeling like a mother again. She wrapped her arms that much tighter around Hiccup's small but strong shoulders. With a huff, Valka shut her eyes once again as she rested her head gently on top of Hiccup's.
                          
Toothless squirmed as he began to regain his own consciousness, The dragon had stayed near, well, practically on top of the mother and son, all night; his head draped over Hiccup's leg and both of Valka's protectively. The rest of the dragons body coiled up on the minimal space left at the foot of the bed, his tail swaying off the end. Opening her eyes to see the dragon, Valka couldn't help but smile at the immense amount of loyalty he had for her son. With a deep purr, the dragon lifted it's head, blinking his eyes.
                          
"Good morning, Toothless." Valka whispered, patting the dragons head.
                          
Toothless purred in delight. Suddenly, his ears perked up, leading to the dragon bolting out of the room silently.
                          
"What..." Valka began when the was a clear rap at the door.
                          
The woman's face raised involuntarily. Carefully, she lifted her son from his resting place and slipped her body off of the bed before lying Hiccup back down, stuffing his flimsy pillow under his head for comfort. The man squirmed and muttered something incomprehensible. Valka swiftly shuffled out of the room and down the stairs.
                          
"Coming." She called when she emerged from the stairway.
                          
Toothless turned in hyper circles in front of the doorway when the woman began to approach. Every once in a while he would stop, turn to Valka with an excited face, then turn back to the door and paw at it. Valka chuckled, walking over and unlatching the door, opening it to a familiar blonde viking.
                          
Astrid shivered, rubbing her hands along her arms rapidly. "What happened? One day it's winter, now it's like it's devastating winter...already!"
                          
Valka raised her eyebrows. "Come in, come in." She ushered the woman inside.
                          
Astrid bowed her head and entered, letting Valka close the door behind her. Toothless bound up to the woman with joy, running around her in tight circle. The blonde chuckled, and greeted the dragon warmly.
                          
"I was just getting up." Valka explained, knowing the house was cold and barren at the moment; the hearth had been dead for a while and the shutters had yet to be opened. 
                          
"It's alright." Astrid dissuaded the woman as she finished patting the dragon who sat himself beside her. "But, um..." She said as she fiddled with her hands. "Is Hiccup up?"
                          
Valka pressed her lips together. "No, not yet, but you can go up and wake him if you want. He had a rough night."
                          
The blondes lips turned down, as well as Toothless'. "Dare I ask how bad?" 
                          
Valka shook her head. "Just bad enough that he fell asleep in my arms, crying." She said, knowing she should be honest with the woman.
                          
Astrid nodded her head. "Thank you. I will go see how he is...hopefully at least a little better."
                          
Valka grasped the woman's shoulder. "Gently does it." 
                          
Astrid nodded again. The woman patted her thigh, calling the black night fury to follow her as she wound her way up the stairs.
                          
Valka, however, began her rounds around the house. First, she opened the shutters, letting the bright sunlight filter through the hole in the wall. She peered out to see many chimneys erupting with smoke from the lit hearths that were just being started from the awakening Vikings around the village. All around, a fresh layer of sleet obscured the land. Soon enough that sleet would melt, only to be frozen over again that night, creating a slick layer of ice over the ground. The woman then walked over to their hearth and began to strike the flint, making sparks fly onto the cold wood and soon enough, catching them on fire.