Celebrate Them
Hiccup sat at the table nearest the space reserved for the Furies. An attendant brought out several haunches of cooked beef and sheep for the Furies. They purred in thanks and then inspected the haunches on large plates. Toothless, Breath-Of-Sky, Snowflame, and Free-Flight ate first.
Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer stepped over to him and nudged his side.
"Why did they burn the meat?" Far-Flight whispered.
"That's how humans need to eat meat. They can't eat it raw," Hiccup explained.
"Why not?"
"They can get sick if they don't cook it.
Breath-Of-Sky ate another haunch of beef and then licked his chops.
"Taste good?" Hiccup asked.
"It tastes... flamed... and good!"
"Really?"
"Well, more blood would be better..."
Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"I'm sure it would..."
The Furies ate the rest of their portions while he ate a quick meal of sliced cheese, freshly baked bread, and salted pork, none of which was tough or tasteless. He wanted to finish his meal quickly since he, Toothless, and Breath-Of-Sky found themselves the center of much attention.
Men, women, and children were eager to meet them. They answered plenty of questions about what the pack was like, where they had been, and what it was like to fly. Something about the atmosphere made everyone more willing to meet the Furies and be in close quarters with them.
All throughout he was given mugs of ale, and it would have been impolite to refuse. He hadn't enjoyed so pleasant a feast since... probably his time in the Shire. However, he made sure to not get drunk. The last time that happened had not been pleasant at all. He kept his third mug still half-full so that no one could offer him a new mug.
It was still turning into a very pleasant evening.
He returned from a break and saw that Toothless and Breath-Of-Sky had wandered off into the crowd and were now sitting beside a table. Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer were apparently comfortable with that since they were curled up together in the corner.
"Hiccup! Get over here!" Merry and Pippin cried out from the table beside which Toothless and Breath-Of-Sky were sitting.
He gladly went over to the table and noticed that Adney and a couple other young people he did not recognize were also there beside the Hobbits.
He nodded to the two other lads at the table, and they introduced themselves.
"Wynfryth." "Haleth."
"I'm Haddock. Good to meet you."
"Alright, he's here!" "Now we start to party!" the Hobbits chuckled.
"Oh, is he the true life of the party?" Adney laughed, leaning in.
"Totally," Pippin exclaimed, lifting his pint-mug, "You should have seen him after the Green Dragon!"
"Yeah, we even started him at a disadvantage, and he still won the drinking contest!" Merry laughed.
Hiccup shrugged and grinned, "What can I say? I get challenged and I just have to win! That's who I am!"
"But it was so crazy afterwards! You all should have seen him," Merry said, lifting a mug brimming with amber foam.
"What were you even doing on the wagon?" Pippin asked.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Yeah, you took off your shirt, started swinging it around, and yelling 'Oye, oye, oye!'" Pippin explained.
"I don't remember that!" he protested, throwing up his hands.
"Which means it definitely happened!" Adney chuckled, pointing at him.
"I swear!"
Toothless stuck his nose into the conversation.
"At least he did not mark your dens!"
"What?" "What?" "What?" "Toothless!"
Toothless grinned and resisted Hiccup's attempts to push him away.
"Yes, he came back to my barn-den after his drinking was done..."
"Don't you dare!"
"He talked with twisted words, fell down, and then he relieved himself in my den!"
A round of laughter went up from the table as fists pounded on the table, tails slapped on the floor, and Hiccup's cheeks turned bright red in his indignation.
"Alright, you useless dragon, if that's how it's going to be... fine! Should I tell everyone that you danced around a valley and tried to catch a... shining light on the ground? Yeah, I was causing that!"
"He did not!" "He did that!" "What!" "Silly brother!"
Toothless recovered himself, closed his mouth, and shoved Hiccup's shoulder with a paw.
"What! How?"
"I'm just that amazing!"
"Sure, how about when you thought it would be a good idea to crash us into rocks!" Toothless retorted.
"Ah, not my best moment! But enough of embarrassing us and sharing our bad moments, how about you all? Surely you have some stories you can share," Hiccup glanced to the other people at the table.
Merry and Pippin related the incident with the fireworks at Bilbo's party. Adney, Wynfryth, and Haleth were amazed at the description of fireworks, and said they hadn't seen anything like that before. But the torture and abuse Gandalf put the Hobbits through was either very disturbing or very exaggerated; Hiccup favored the latter explanation, given who the storytellers were.
"What about you three?" Pippin eagerly asked them.
Adney frowned.
"Not much to say about us. Our lives are very boring compared to yours. The craziest thing my brother probably did was he was helping our father re-straw the roof and my dear brother fell off into a pile of manure," she explained.
"Ady! You pushed me!" Wynfryth glared at her.
"You still fell off..." she shrugged.
"I didn't tell anyone that you couldn't ride a horse until you were fifteen! Oops, just told them..." he said.
Hiccup shook his head as the two siblings continued trading insults, though in what was probably good humor. They were both grinning as they roasted each other. Maybe this was a pastime of theirs.
The Hobbits were clutching their sides, laughing deeply. Even Toothless and Breath-Of-Sky were laughing, though Breath-Of-Sky was probably laughing because Toothless was.
"You are very twisted!" Toothless said.
"Twisted?" Adney asked.
"Strange and funny, like you had twisted your tail... if you had one."
"Well, I have to put up with my brother, so..."
"Ady!"
She gently punched Wynfryth's shoulder.
"You know I love you, bro..."
"Sure... oh look, our folks are here!"
Hiccup glanced where Wynfryth and Adney looked and saw three adults sitting at another table; they looked like an old couple and a middle-aged man who was probably Adney's and Wynfryth's father.
Sure enough, Adney and Wynfryth got up from the table.
"If you'll excuse us, we should go to our folks," she said.
She paused beside Toothless and Breath-Of-Sky.
"Good dragons, thanks for talking with us."
"And laughing!" Breath-Of-Sky added.
"That too! Later!"
She and her brother left for their folks' table.
"Alright, looks like it's just us now!" Pippin cheerfully said.
Toothless purred and leaned closer to the Hobbits.
"Want to tell my brother about the Shire? He liked what we told him before."
Breath-Of-Sky also leaned in, his ears lifted.
"The very green place! Please tell me!"
"Well, if you insist... Hiccup, want to join us for this?" Merry asked.
While hearing more about the Shire was almost always a good use of time, there were other things he could do right now which would be more productive. He was at least somewhat responsible for overseeing everything at this shared feast and for making sure that the human-Fury interactions went well.
"If you will all excuse me, I'll go check on everyone else. Someone's gotta make sure there's no fighting!"
Pippin nodded.
"Sounds good. Alright, Breath-Of-Sky, how about we start with the best place in the Shire... other than the Green Dragon, obviously..."
"The Southfarthing..." Merry interjected.
"Indeed, Merry. Best pipeweed in the whole Shire..."
"What is pipeweed?" Breath-Of-Sky asked.
Toothless nudged his shoulder.
"Have you ever seen a human or Hobbit making smoke before?"
Breath-Of-Sky's eyes went wide.
"They have fire too?" he barked in shock.
"Not really..." Toothless chuckled.
Amused by how crazy that conversation had quickly become, Hiccup got up and wandered the Hall, quickly checking on each of the other Furies within. Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer were still dozing in the corner. Snowflame was gingerly following Free-Flight between some of the tables. Lastly, Flame-In-The-Night and Snowfall were sitting near the front of the hall and were talking with Theoden.
He hadn't had the... pleasure to sit in on any important conversations his father had with other Chiefs, so he had no idea what leaders talked about with each other. It was probably boring stuff. However, the simple fact that the Alphas and King Theoden were able to speak respectfully with each other was a very reassuring sign.
The Alphas finished speaking with Theoden, and then they stepped aside and returned to the space saved for them. Theoden then saw him watching, and beckoned him forward.
"Master Haddock, welcome. I pray that you are enjoying the feast."
"Very much, King Theoden. We all are."
"I am glad to hear it. I have been thinking about your idea of a great hall for the dragons. It has its merit as a way to forge greater trust between us and to give the dragons a place of their own. With that said, it might be best to wait to begin construction after the war, when we have more time and resources to devote to such an endeavor."
Hiccup nodded in agreement after a moment of thought. Theoden had a valid point that building a new great hall during a war effort was not the most prudent plan. Doing that could wait until later.
"That makes sense. It would need a lot of planning anyway. Do you have any idea how long the war might last?"
Theoden frowned and looked weary.
"Nay, I do not. Gandalf has shared with me the true quest and purpose of the Fellowship. How long it will be before that purpose is fulfilled, I cannot say. A month? A full winter? The sooner the world is freed from the shadow, the better."
"I understand, King."
He turned to leave but was surprised when Theoden clasped him on the shoulder.
"Do you feel welcomed here in Edoras?" Theoden asked.
"I do. It reminds me a lot of where I'm from, except the people here don't hate dragons and haven't been fighting a three hundred years war against them."
"Is that so? Pray tell how."
"You are tougher than you look, have simple lives, know how to use weapons, and love to feast and drink as a... tribe. Even the village looks similar with a great hall and the type of buildings you make. Almost feels like home..."
"You remind me of someone who was very dear to me," Theoden softly said.
"Who was it?"
"My son. He was killed by raiding Orcs when I was... unable to lift a finger in defense of my people."
He almost started in surprise and pity. Theoden, a kind, brave, and solemn king, had lost his son during the war. His thoughts briefly went out to his own father back on Berk. Was Stoick worried about him, or furious with him for befriending Toothless and leaving forever? There was no way to know.
Theoden continued without pause.
"If I could trade places with him, if I could have died instead, I would without any hesitation. No parent should have to... bury their child."
Theoden frowned, gazing off into the distance, and then must have remembered everything going on around him.
"Ah, do not concern yourself with that and my troubles. Go on, this night is for celebration."
Hiccup bowed to him and then wandered inside the Hall. He noticed that Flame-In-The-Night and Snowfall had gone off to the corner of the Hall and were resting, just like Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer.
He also saw Aragorn on his own, likely lost in thought after whatever he and Gandalf had been talking about earlier. That made this a good opportunity for a meeting which hadn't happened yet. Aragorn had left with Theoden to go to Isengard before any proper introductions had been made in this special case.
He approached Aragorn.
"Aragorn."
"Master Haddock."
"Have you met Flame-In-The-Night and Snowfall yet?"
"I have not spoken to them."
"Well, you should since you tended to their daughter at Helm's Deep. They would want to meet you and thank you for that."
"If you wish for us to meet, please introduce us," Aragorn agreed.
They approached the Alpha pair together.
"Flame-In-The-Night, Snowfall, this is the one I told you about. His name is Aragorn. He tended to Snowflame in the fighting."
Both Alphas drew a breath and stared at Aragorn. Then they hung their heads and crooned very softly.
"You saved our daughter's life," Snowfall whispered.
"It was not that terrible of a wound," Aragorn said.
"Still," Flame-In-The-Night answered, "you helped her. We will not forget that."
Aragorn bowed to them.
"I lived long in the wild and learned many types of healing. It is my honor to have given aid to one of you," he said.
"Yes," Hiccup interjected, "his hands are those of a healer."
Something about what he said surprised Aragorn, but the ranger had no chance to say anything.
Snowfall stepped forward without prompting and rested her nose against Aragorn's forehead while purring softly in gratitude. She had the dignity to not lick him though.
Aragorn stepped back, bowed again to both of them, and then vanished again into the merry crowd.
Alright, nice. That went well.
The Alphas then returned to the side of the Hall while Far-Flight and Sky-Dancer ambled up to him.
"Hiccup, will you stay here with our sons?" Far-Flight asked.
"Sure, you two going out on your own?"
"Yes, we want to fly..." Sky-Dancer purred.
They dashed out of the Hall together.
Well, we won't be seeing them again tonight...
He realized that his mug was empty, so he grabbed another mug of ale and slowly drank while wandering the Hall, idly listening to the conversation and observing the interactions. There was some wrestling and tussling among the men for the remaining barrels of ale.
Hmm, maybe I should check on everyone outside soon...
"It's time!" a pair of voices clamored.
Merry and Pippin were standing on a table. They had locked their arms and had large mugs in their free hands. A couple dozen men and women gathered around them and began cheering and clapping. Most of the other conversations died away.
Then the Hobbits started dancing and singing.
"Oh, you can search far and wide! You can drink the whole town dry, but you'll never find a beer so brown... but you'll never find a beer so brown... as the one we drink in our hometown... as the one we drink in our hometown."
They stamped their feet and kicked away someone's mug.
"You can drink your fancy ales! You can drink them by the flagon, but the only brew for the brave and true, comes from THE GREEN DRAGON!"
The Hobbits clanged their mugs together and then started drinking, bottoms up.
Raucous cheering and applause went up at the end of their song.
"Thank you!" "I win!"
Hiccup leaned against a supporting column and shook his head while clapping at the Hobbits' being themselves. He was entirely pleased to sit back and watch everything unfolding. A chorus of voices and conversation resumed.
Breath-Of-Sky and Free-Flight were weaving between the tables and eagerly striking up conversation with the young people they met, though Free-Flight seemed to just want to be petted, smile at everyone, and occasionally snap up a tasty morsel.
It probably wasn't right that Free-Flight was eating food that had been tossed on the floor for him, but it was a festive party and he was not going to spoil the mood by telling anyone off. Further, good interaction of any kind was part of the point of having the Furies here at all.
"Hiccup," Snowflame nudged his side.
"Snowflame," he took her head in his hands and scratched her chin, "how are you?"
"Well," she purred, "they gave me meat called salted-pork. It was tasty."
"Bet it was!"
She toothlessly grinned.
"What is this green dragon in the song?" she asked.
"Oh, it isn't a dragon. It's a place like this hall. A place where Hobbits, those are the little humans, bond with each other, eat meals, and drink a lot."
She hummed softly and nodded towards the front door, so he followed her outside. They stopped at the top of the stone steps leading up to the Golden Hall. She sat down, and he stood beside her, looking out over the continuing party down below and the distant darkness of the plain beyond the walls.
There were more Furies sitting outside near the bonfires while a pair of the cubs, Storm-Chaser and Tail-Hunter, played with each other. Their parents sat close by, watching over them without appearing especially worried, though the nearest humans gave them all a respectful amount of space. Mystery and Windripper sat on their haunches while talking with several young people. Even Jumps-At-Fire was present among the pack; she was not isolating herself as she had in the past.
Seeing just about everyone here in peace and trust was...
Then he slapped himself in the forehead when he realized the obvious.
"Lightning is not with us! She and Hunts are not at the party."
"No, she is resting much now," Snowflame answered.
"Well, she shouldn't be left out. I'll bring her something to eat!"
"Good idea. She will like that."
Snowflame then bounded away from him and trotted toward Windripper.
He ran back inside the Hall, went to the kitchen, explained his request, and got two buckets, one of water and the other of chicken. However, he paused on his way out of the Hall when he noticed Gimli and Legolas standing by a table on which were many empty mugs. Toothless, his ears lifted in amusement, was closely watching the Dwarf and the Elf.
"What's going on?" Hiccup asked them.
"It's a drinkin' game!" Gimli gruffly answered.
That much was obvious.
"I see that. What are the stakes?" Hiccup asked, amused at their progress.
"When I win," Gimli threw down his gauntlet and pointed at the Elf, "Legolas has agreed to explore the Glittering Caves behind Helm's Deep with me! An Elf will delve underground!"
"And Gimli has agreed that when I win, after the war we will both explore the depths of the Entwood and will see such trees as are nowhere else found in Middle-earth," Legolas firmly answered.
They both downed another mug.
"What are the rules to the drinking game?" Toothless asked.
"Rules? Last one standin' wins! Heh, heh, heh!" Gimli burped.
"You shall not prevail, Gimli son of Gloin! Do you know nothing of the constitution of the Elves? Legolas swayed on his feet and braced himself against the table.
"Oh, I know enough! Lightweights, all of ye! Ye can't hold yer liquor!" Gimli roared.
"What would you know? You have never been in the Woodland realm, bearded one! You and your kin have never joined us for strong drink at our festivals!" Legolas declared, holding a hand to his chest.
Gimli pointed a finger somewhere towards the Elf.
"I don't need to! Mine father told me stories of ye pointy-ears Elves in yer Woodland realm! Thorin's entire company escaped yer dungeons cause yer guards couldn't handle their own wine!"
Legolas looked either livid or ashamed.
They both grabbed another mug and began drinking.
I better leave them to it.
He bowed to them, though they looked like they had entirely forgotten about him, and went to Toothless's side. The Fury looked very amused by the Elf and Dwarf.
"What is that chicken and water for?" Toothless asked, seeing the buckets.
"I'm taking it to Lightning. I'll be outside if you need me."
"Okay."
He then continued outside the Hall, down the hill, and toward the stable given to Lightning and Hunts-In-Deep-Waters. As he expected, Hunts-In-Deep-Waters was awake and alert outside the stable's entrance. The male's head lifted at his approach.
"Hiccup."
"Hunts-In-Deep-Waters," he bowed, "is she awake? I brought some food and water for her."
Hunts-In-Deep-Waters purred softly and turned for the stable. He strolled inside and nuzzled her neck.
"Hiccup has some ground-bird and water for you."
Lightning groaned and wearily lifted her head, blinking away the sleepiness from her eyes.
"Hey there Lightning. I brought dinner, hope you're hungry..."
"I am..." she answered without moving.
Satisfied that he had permission, he approached her and bent down at her head, gently setting down the buckets of chicken and water for her. She gobbled down the chicken and lapped at the water. Then he gently rubbed under her chin until she started purring.
"How are you feeling?"
"Heavy..." she answered.
He snorted.
"How long do you have?"
"I do not know. This is my first cub."
"Alright. I found an old female who taught me some about how to help you. I would want her to be here when it's time; she knows more than I do. Are you okay with that?"
She blinked and huffed.
"Yes, if you trust her then I trust her."
He had already gotten approval from her mate, but it felt appropriate to do so with her directly.
"Good, I'll let you get back to sleep."
Then he left her and went outside as she curled back up. He stopped at Hunts-In-Deep-Waters's side.
"You just fly to me and let me know when it's time. I can bring Haerfara to meet you both tomorrow."
"Good," Hunts-In-Deep-Waters purred.
Hiccup strolled back through Edoras up toward the Golden Hall, alight from within and without by torches and fires. It was a beautiful, clear night on which the stars shone brightly. He paused up above the slope where the Furies slept. He was just far enough away from the activity that he had some measure of peace and quiet.
It was good that everyone was getting along so far, though it was probably easier to get along during a feast in which there was plenty for all. How the Furies and the Rohirrim would get along in normal life was still something to figure out along with work assignments. Those were topics for tomorrow and...
Oddly, it looked like one of the Furies had already left the party and was now resting down below. They were all alone, whoever it was.
Curious, he ran through the list of who he remembered seeing at the party or was otherwise occupied, and he realized the obvious. There was someone who understandably had not joined the party at all.
He could leave her alone, as she probably wished to be, or he could go to her and have another... pleasant talk. Talking to her was unlikely to help much, but stranger things had happened in his life.
So he started down the slope toward the lighter shape.
It was dark enough that he had to take the slope slowly to avoid tumbling down.
"Moonbeam?"
She stiffened and turned toward him from where she lay up on the rock.
"Hiccup..." she sniffled and quickly blinked her purple eyes.
Wait, were you crying?
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"What is not wrong?" she huffed, looking away from him.
He climbed up on the rock and scrambled over to her side, though he kept a few feet between them out of respect.
"Why are you out here alone, away from the pack?"
"Because they are bonding with the humans," she answered.
"Yes, so? That's good of them."
"Is it? What comes next? More fighting for humans, forced carrying?"
He frowned.
"You know I wouldn't let that happen. And you are dragons. You'd never let yourselves be treated poorly."
"I," she softly sighed, "see the others from the pack up among the humans. Maybe they want that, but I am not like the rest of the pack. In my dreams, I still see my sire and dam dead because of humans."
"Humans in general or a bad human?"
"Only that bad one, but it has your face."
That stung. Even though she had already told him that her parents' killer looked almost like him, it still hurt to be reminded of that apparent similarity. But there was another, more sinister side to her dreams as she just related them.
Was it possible that she thought he could betray the pack and become a dragon-killer?
"Me? Do you really think I could ever do something that terrible?"
Faintly growling, she turned and narrowed her purple eyes on him.
"Maybe you could have. You let Toothless live when you could have killed him. What if you had killed him?"
Gods, I don't even want to think about that.
"I couldn't have done that."
She hissed.
"Yes, you could have if you were a little angrier or more like your old pack. Fly this thought flight. How would your life have been different?"
He stared into the dark plain beyond the Edoras walls. It was terrible to imagine that he had killed Toothless. But since she asked... and purely as a what-if...
"I don't know. My tribe, my old pack, would have been proud of me. I'd have been the true pride of Berk and would have been respected, finally. Everything would have been different... better maybe as I saw it then..."
But there was another obvious truth, now that he thought about the situation and truly tried to imagine how life would have progressed if he had killed Toothless.
"For a while, but I wouldn't really be any different. I'd still be little and weak compared to everyone there, so I'd probably feel like I had to keep proving myself to them. I'd do that by killing more dragons, more Night Furies, probably, if I could. That... might become my whole life."
She grunted in agreement.
"Yes, and you are doing that now in a different way."
He crossed his arms and scowled with righteous indignation. She had gone too far in saying that.
"How! How is making peace the same as killing them or your kind? That is stupid! You're smarter than that!"
She snarled in his face. He did not blink or recoil at all.
"Your idea of peace will change us! What do you want us to be, your mounts? Would you have each human pair get a dark wing or a light wing of its own to ride on and be carried on and have do work for them? Are we only horses with wings?"
He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, silently counting to ten to avoid an outburst of anger and frustration. How could she even suggest anything like that after everything she had seen? After all the times he assured her that was an unreasonable fear? After seeing everything that was happening right now just above in Edoras?
It was like she had stubbornness issues.
"My old pack had a saying about dragons. A dragon will always go for the kill," he whispered.
"Why does that matter?"
"Burning-Star didn't go for the kill. You aren't going for the kill now."
"So?"
"You are not dragons. Not dragons as my old pack understood them, anyway. You are not cruel and uncaring monsters. You are more than just animals. Everything my old pack knew about you was always wrong."
He looked away from her out to the dark plain.
"Moonbeam, you are not stupid. Why are you holding onto... the old way, fear, and distrust of humans? Please, I want to know."
"Because we are safer out there! We cannot be hurt and used by humans and others if we are flying on our own and free of them."
"Do you still think that about humans? Even after everything you've seen?"
She lay her head on her paws and did not answer for a long time. Her voice was much softer when she continued.
"I do not know what to think. I see the peace you are making, and it... might be good. But what happens when one of us has a fight with a human? What happens when your kind remembers that we are not toothless, clawless, and flameless?"
He shrugged.
"People fight sometimes. Life isn't perfect. That doesn't mean giving up is better, especially when giving up would probably mean more and worse fighting later. Just because you could hurt humans doesn't mean that you will try to."
She still looked skeptical, so he continued.
"Alright, let's think about it this way instead: what if you're right? The humans eventually stop trusting you dragons, try to use you, and even turn on you. Then you can just fly away and go somewhere else that is safer."
"You are assuming that we even have a chance to fly. My sire and dam did not. If I had not been flying that day, the thrall-dragons might not have seen me and known where..." she snarled and went silent.
Her words echoed in the silence that followed.
Her father and mother defended their den and their children, and were killed over a decade ago by some unknown, grisly dragon hunter that used other dragons as tools and weapons. She was forced to flee the den while carrying her infant sister, and she saw from afar as her parents were killed. She was forced to grow up far too quickly and to provide for two even before she had fire of her own.
It was incredible that she had done all that and risen to the challenge despite the grief she must have felt. Seeing a loved parent, let alone both of them, die must have been so...
Oh gods...
He had a flash of clarity and pity as so much about who she was and what she struggled with made perfect sense.
He turned to her and scooted closer without looking away from her. She closely watched him as he settled down just before her. Then he held out his hands, palms up, before her chin. He had not yet touched her a single time, and it was entirely her choice to do so if she wanted it.
"What are you doing?" she snorted.
"What happened to your parents was not your fault," he whispered.
She blinked and lifted her head from her paws.
"No, it was not my fault. I know that."
"Not your fault that you had to raise your sister from when she was a cub."
"I know!" she barked.
"Not your fault."
"I know! It was that human and his thrall-dragons!" she bared her teeth.
"Not your fault."
Her eyes narrowed on him as she wordlessly snarled.
"Not your fault."
Her claws scratched against the rock.
"Not your fault."
"Hiccup... what are... you..."
"Not your fault."
She breathed heavily and hung her head slightly without looking away from him.
"I... I do not... understand..." she whined.
"Not. Your. Fault."
Something broke.
She leaned forward into his hands with a weak whine and gasp. Tears fell freely down her muzzle as he leaned his forehead against hers.
He said nothing, settling for gently holding her muzzle as she trembled and wept freely. His own tears on her behalf mingled with hers. How long he stayed there he was not sure; he could and would stay there all night if she needed it.
How long had it been since she let out the hurt or openly faced it? She had been forced to grow up and be there for her baby sister. Had she secretly blamed herself for being seen flying over the den? Had the pain laid there, unchallenged and unrecognized, for over a decade without closure? How easy was it then to blame the entirety of another group whom she did not truly know?
All her hate and anger toward humans was just because she was hurting, unknowingly blaming herself and needing someone else to blame.
She eventually leaned back from him with her head still hung. Then she gave the faintest of purrs. It was the first time he had ever heard her purring.
"Moonbeam..."
"H... Hiccup..."
"You did nothing wrong. You are so brave."
"It... feels like I did. They would be alive if... I had not... been seen."
"You don't know that. The bad human probably knew where you were. He would have found you eventually..."
"Maybe..."
"He is gone now, and you will never see him again. So don't give him any more power over you."
She gasped and weakly whispered.
"I still see it in my dreams. How... do I move on? Do I try to forget them, my sire and dam? I do not... know what to do..."
He paused, unsure what to say at first. He had not been planning to give her anything like life advice. He also hadn't experienced anything so terrible himself.
"No. Don't forget them. Listen to me: there was nothing you could have done differently. You are not to blame. Honestly, do you believe that?"
"I... could have fought more or..." she protested.
He remembered the scar that streaked down her front.
"How? You did not have fire back then. You got a scar from the fight, so you almost died. No. Your parents told you to flee with your sister. You did what you had to do. You would both have died if you stayed."
She said nothing, but she didn't object either. That was promising.
"What would they want you to do now? Would they want you to be stuck... living forever in that moment when they died?"
"Probably... not. But..."
She sighed, staring at her paws.
"Saying that does not help me feel... warmer. It does not change that they are dead."
He frowned.
"Okay, how about this? What would that hunter want? More death and killing is probably what he would want. If I know humans, he was liked by many of them in that world we came from. They... probably thought he was a hero. I want this world to be one where people like him never happen. You must know that our kinds being apart and on our own is not the answer. It does not help us learn to trust each other."
She took a deep breath and slowly looked up to him as she blinked away the remaining tears.
"No, it does not..." she whispered.
"And do you believe that you did nothing wrong? What happened is not your fault," he whispered.
"I... yes... I see that now... you are right..."
Relieved that she had finally accepted that, he let her admission hover in the air for a long time. There was simply no need to say anything else.
Though, there was something they could do to further help her. Talking about problems helped, but it was probably not enough on its own.
"Do you want to come up to the feast? The rest of the pack, most of it anyway, is still up there now."
He and she looked up at the blazing, flickering lights in Edoras. The party was still ongoing and likely would continue all night long, if the Rohirrim were at all like Berkians.
"I'm sure they still have some food they could share," he added.
She chuckled softly at that.
"Smelling the burning meat has been twisting..." she admitted.
"So let's see if they saved us some," he proposed.
He hopped down from the rock as she did likewise.
"Will you... walk with me?" she whispered.
He slowly put a hand on her neck, and she did not recoil or flinch at all.
"Yes, I will."
She purred very softly and started up the steep slope. He walked at her side up out of the darkness and toward the many voices of laughter and conversation. Toward the Furies peacefully sitting around and warming themselves next to bonfires. Toward the humans sitting at tables and sharing stories with each other and even with some of the more eager Furies, mostly the fledglings, sitting closest to them.
Toward light and life.
Toothless stepped out of the noise in the Golden Hall. He wanted a little more peace and quiet outside under the stars, and he was also curious where Hiccup had wandered off to. Hiccup had been gone a while if what he meant to do was take Lightning some food and water.
He paused on the rock-steps up to the Golden Hall because he saw much of the pack sitting peacefully around fires and many humans. Then he gasped in surprise when he saw Hiccup standing at Moonbeam's shoulder. Hiccup had a paw on her neck, and she did not look afraid of anything. They were not talking or doing anything except being there for each other in an act of silent trusting and bonding.
It was a warmth he had thought she could never have or show.
The possibility that she would be happier and more trusting now, that she had somehow changed or shed old life-scales, filled his soul-fire with warmth that he had not felt in a long time.
Then he allowed himself a spark of hope.
While Jumps-At-Fire had been wrong about many things, she was not wrong that some ceremonies were not good or needed anymore. While her reasons were twisted, she had been willing to be with him even with him being grounded on his own.
Maybe Moonbeam could learn to ignore old ceremonies, and could accept him as he was. He would not use her like he did with Jumps-At-Fire.
He wanted so much more.