70. Meeting of the Moms

This bed was way too small.

And considering it was the first bed Valka’s slept on in years, it left a lot to be desired.

But as she squirmed and shimmied, trying to find a comfortable position, she soon found that she wasn’t in a bed. But on a couch.

In an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar building.

She immediately jolted awake, a life in the wild granting her the ability to rouse from slumber quickly.

Taking note of her surroundings, Valka saw that she was in a living room of sorts. Cozily decorated with furniture, various knick-knacks on shelves, and family photos lining the walls.

A few of the people in the pictures looked familiar to her.

The light of dawn crept into the room from the windows, signifying that it was far too early to be awake. The birds weren’t even singing yet.

Valka was always an early riser.

Her armor had been removed, leaving her in her normal tunic and leggings. Her boots lied at the bottom of the couch.

Her staff and shield weren’t present, and neither was Cloudjumper.

She was vulnerable.

Panic nearly overtook her, but Valka kept her composure.

She quickly hefted herself over the couch, and bent down behind it. Hiding in an animalistic squat.

From her hidden position, she examined her location. Looking for any possible routes of escape.

The only way out was an entrance way, which led to a greater courtyard. She imagined the front door was out there, as well.

Freedom was just a few steps away.

She’d pulled off far more dangerous escapes before, this would be simple.

Get out, find Cloudjumper, and leave.

Stalking forwards, stepping as lightly as could be, she began to sneak out from behind the couch.

Her body, low and close to the ground. Nearly walking on all four limbs.

Sticking to the shadows, she peeked around the couch’s arm. Checking to see if the coast was clear.

It was early in the morning, anyone in the building should still be sleeping. But one could never be too careful.

And she soon found that she wasn’t alone.

To her right, there was a man. Curled up on a reading chair, releasing nasally little snores. A blanket had been placed upon him.

At first, Valka felt a burst of fear at seeing another person in the room with her. But she relaxed when she realized it was her son.

But…why is he here?

And where exactly is here?

He didn’t look to be captured or imprisoned. And neither did she, now that she was thinking about it.

Trappers have made a number of attempts on her life, over the years. And she’s even been held prisoner a few times.

But this place looked too homelike to be a Dragon Trapper fort.

However, looks could be deceiving.

Just because this building doesn’t seem dangerous, doesn’t mean it isn’t.

And whether it was truly safe or not, they weren’t sticking around to find out.

Valka scurried over to the reading chair, and began gently, but hastily, jostling her son awake.

“Hiccup!” She whispered, trying not to alert anyone else in the building. “Hiccup, wake up!”

But the young man was too involved in what appeared to be a vivid dream, and was even mumbling things in his sleep.

“…Woah, Mira…we’re not supposed do that till…we’re married…” He groggily giggled, speaking to figments of his imagination.

And now Valka felt very awkward.

With her fingers, she plucked his round nose. Shocking him out of dreamland.

Surging upwards, Hiccup was seconds away from releasing a surprised yelp-

But Valka placed a palm over his mouth, while feverishly darting her eyes around the area. Trying to see if his sudden movements had blown their cover.

“Mom?” Hiccup asked. Though through the muffling hand, it sounded more like “MMPH?”

Slowly, the skittish woman removed her palm.

“What are you doing- “

Hiccup’s question was cut off my Valka shushing him. Imploring him to remain quiet.

With a slight eye roll, he indulged her.

“What are you doing up?” Hiccup asked in a whisper. “Breakfast isn’t for another few hours.”

“We have to get out of here…” Valka said, not even answering his question.

She was already back on the ground, creeping towards the entry way.

“We need to find our dragons, and escape.” She stuck her head out into the courtyard, to ensure no one was present.

She then waved Hiccup forward. “Come, quickly! We may not have much time!”

But Hiccup wasn’t moving. He was still sitting on the chair, wearing the blanket that Pepa placed over him when he’d accidentally fallen asleep that night.

And unlike his mother, he didn’t look worried at all.

In fact, he was laughing.

“Mom, we’re not in danger!” Hiccup chuckled, no longer speaking in hushed tones.

He yawned, and stretched. The blanket around his shoulders falling to his sides. Before he slouched back in a relaxed position.

“This house is probably the safest place in the Encanto, which is already pretty darn safe.” He then placed his arms behind his head, and crossed his legs. “So let’s just get some sleep before breakfast time, alright?”

Something about Hiccup’s words stuck out to her.

“E-Encanto?” Valka repeated, the word feeling strange on her tongue. “Is that where we are?”

She remembered him speaking about it, the night before. He seemed to hold it in high regard.

“Yep…” Hiccup simply responded, too tired for much else. His eyelids were already starting to flutter.

Valka face took on a look of confusion.

“B-But…how?” She asked, rising to a stand. “Just yesterday, we were in the archipelago! How did we get here so quickly? I don’t even remember coming here!”

Hiccup developed a sheepish look.

“When we teleported, we must’ve accidentally taken you with us…” He nervously grinned. “That’s probably how you got knocked out, the first warp is always the roughest.”

This talk of teleportation, instantaneously warping from one part of the world to another…it was incomprehensible to Valka.

But Hiccup, seeing her mind trying to wrap itself around this, just shrugged. “Magic.”

He was used to it by now.

“We brought you in, fixed you up, and decided to let you sleep. That was a pretty hard crash.” Hiccup said. “A-And I guess I fell asleep while making sure you were okay.”

Hearing that she supposedly crashed, the woman suddenly became quite fearful for her dragon.

“And what of Cloudjumper? Where is he? I-Is he alright?” She frantically asked.

Hiccup tried to put her fears to rest.

“He’s fine! He’s out back, in the family stable. He’s probably sleeping.”

“Like we should be…” He thought.

Calming down from the fright she’d just experienced, Valka took a moment to examine the photos on the walls.

She definitely recognized Mirabel, as well as the flowery woman, the gigantic woman, and the mischievous young man.

What was it that they called themselves…

“Are we in their home?” Valka asked. “The Madrigals?”

Hiccup nodded, a proud smile on his face.

“We’re in Casita! The home of La Familia Madrigal, and the best house a guy could ask for!” He proclaimed, before rubbing the back of his neck.

“But…it’s not like I live here...”

From beneath his feet, Casita jolted the floor tiles in a teasing manner. As if to say “That’ll change soon!”

And Valka leaped back.

The floor moved.

Floors were not supposed to move.

She dropped to the ground, eyes quaking with a primal fright, and pressed her cheeks to the floor. Listening for any creatures that could be lying just underneath. While trying to still her heavy breathing.

And it was then that Hiccup realized that he forgot to mention something.

“Oh, yeah…the house is alive.” He uttered awkwardly. “Say hi, Casita.”

At his word, the house clanked its wall tiles to create a jolly little greeting tune.

And it freaked Valka out.

She jumped up from her position, and leapt onto the coffee table. Hunched over, and flitting her eyes about the room. Now viewing everything in the house as a threat.

“We have to go, now!” She commanded, voice dripping with paranoia. “Before it devours us!”

Hiccup sighed, while running a hand down his face.

“Casita’s a house, mom. It can’t eat you…”

“A-And how do you know?” She asked, moving under the table to hide under it. “You said it was magic, it could eat someone!”

Hiccup looked over to a nearby window with an exasperated expression, and the shutters creaked in a shrug.

His hopes of getting back to sleep now thoroughly dashed, Hiccup realized that his mother was probably going to work herself into a panic unless he got to explaining.

And so he did.

“Mom, get out from under the coffee table.” He requested, with a deadpan stare.

She did so, hesitantly. Crawling out with massive amounts of suspicion in her eyes.

He gestured back to the couch, and she took an anxious seat.

“This house, this village, was created to keep people safe. Casita won’t hurt you unless you threaten its family.” He said, before growing a small smile. “It’s the nicest house I’ve ever met!”

“…It’s also the only house I’ve ever met, but y’know…”

Valka still looked quite trepidatious.

“B-But…how is this even possible?” She asked in a small voice. “Where did this all come from?”

The young man perked up, at this.

Getting comfortable in the reading chair, and rewrapping the blanket around his shoulders, he spoke in a mysterious voice.

“To answer that…I’m gonna have to take you back over fifty years…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the birds finally started singing, Hiccup should’ve known it was too late.

He’d told his mother everything he knew, about the miracle. Pedro’s sacrifice, the magical gifts, everything.

She’d asked a lot of questions, many of them fairly repetitive, but he didn’t blame her. It still sounded unbelievable to him, even though he knew it to be true.

He’d answered each one to the best of his ability.

And by the time he was done, by the time he was sure she’d gotten at least a basic understanding of what was going on here…

“Wow, you’re up early.”

A fairly drowsy Hiccup looked over to see Mirabel, standing in the entrance way.

Her deep brown eyes sparkled with adoration, when she glanced upon Hiccup. Though it was soon replaced with a glint of uncertainty, when looking at Valka.

“I came to wake you guys up for breakfast, but it looks like you did my job for me.”

Hiccup came to an unfortunate realization.

They’d been talking all early morning.

The sun had risen.

It was time for breakfast.

He wouldn’t be getting any more sleep.

With the shuddering sigh of a broken man, Hiccup accepted his reality and rose out of the chair.

Mirabel chuckled at his weathered expression. “If you wanna sneak in a nap at the stables later, I’ll cover for you!”

The two shared a brief kiss, before the bespectacled girl faced the other person in the room.

Her good mood immediately dropped a bit.

“Breakfast is in ten. We’re having it outside today, so just head out back when you’re ready.” She spoke.

Her tone was cordial, but it carried the slightest hint of apprehension.

Valka just nodded, unnerved at the usually plucky girl’s lack of joviality.

But then again, Valka had only known her for a collective two hours. Maybe she was like this every morning?

The three entered the courtyard, the smells of their incoming meal burgeoning from the kitchen. The trio became a duo, when Mirabel went to go set the table.

Hiccup and Valka instead made for the stairs, in search of the bathrooms.

He could hear all the doors creaking, as they did.

Nosy Madrigals, all sneaking to get a peek at the woman who literally crashed on their doorstep. Who claimed to be their fishbone’s birth mother.

On the way, Hiccup heard the strangest noise.

Growling.

A little voice, trying its best to imitate vicious snarls.

He immediately knew who it was.

They’d been walking by the nursery, on their way to the facilities. And little Sofia had noticed Hiccup from her crib.

She associated him with dragons, and so she’d make vocalizations reminiscent of the beasts whenever she wanted his attention.

The baby actually had an assortment of noises she’d imitate for each person in the house. Like a donkey’s braying for Luisa, or a thunderclap for Pepa. The girl was very perceptive to sounds.

Smiling warmly, Hiccup entered the nursery and plucked Sofia out of her crib. The baby squealed with glee, her big brown eyes twinkling, happy that her plan worked.

“Woah! Was that you, Sofia?” Hiccup asked, in mock surprise. “I thought I heard a Nadder in here!”

The girl laughed uproariously, amused by his overexaggerated speaking. And waved her little feet about, covered in her orange footie pajamas.

A whimpering from below alerted Hiccup to the other baby in the crib, clothed in olive green.

He currently wasn’t the center of attention, and he wasn’t pleased about it.

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup bent down and picked him up with his other arm.

“Can’t forget about you, Diego!” Hiccup said, before adding a mumble. “Mostly because you’ll pull my hair if I do…”

Diego laughed as well, pleased that he was in the spotlight.

The baby boy then started to pat Hiccup’s face with his little hand. Wearing a wide, gummy smile.

Diego’s method of showing affection seemed to be bouts of physical altercation. It was sort of cute now, but the family hoped he’d grow out of this behavior soon.

Peering behind the open door, was Manuel. Eyeing the woman in the hallway with unease.

“What’s up, Manny?” Hiccup asked, his arms occupied by squirming babies.

“That’s your mom, right?” Asked the four-year-old. At Hiccup’s nod, his expression grew a bit confused.

“I thought Tia Juli was your mom?”

Hiccup tried his best to shrug, while carrying a combined forty pounds. “You can have more than one mom or dad!”

Manuel returned his gaze to the stranger, just outside his door.

Valka met those little hazel eyes, and froze.

When was the last time she’d interacted with a child?

She tried her best to stand upright, and not immediately sink down into an instinctual, defensive crouch.

Slowly and stiltedly, she brought up a hand. And attempted a shaky little wave.

Manuel saw this action, following every movement of her hand. When she was done, his eyes returned to her own.

And he returned the wave.

Valka considered this a massive success.

“Excuse me.”

Valka did sink into an instinctual, defensive crouch, when a voice sounded off from beside her.

Spooked, she lurched to the side, in a graceful yet animalistic movement. Glaring up at the new arrival with a challenging huff, to show that she wasn’t to be trifled with.

Dolores was sufficiently weirded out.

Her wide doe eyes glanced down at the odd woman, with her pouty lips were pulled back in a frown that emphasized just how peculiar she found this moment to be.

With an uncomfortable squeak, she turned to the colorful room. Ready to attend to her child.

Only to find her daughter in Hiccup’s arms, along with her youngest cousin. Babbling incoherently, while the young man pretended to understand.

“Gah-Gah-Gah!”

“I agree, it’s a crying shame…” Hiccup nodded, with a stern expression.

“Ababa-baba!”

“Exactly!” He cried, with phony outrage. “These are the most pressing matters of our generation, they need to be addressed!”

If you would have told the Madrigals on the day of Hiccup’s arrival that one day they’d trust this crazy, child-kidnapping dragon boy with their babies, they’d have all called you insane.

And yet, here they were.

“I hate to break up this riveting conversation…” Dolores smirked, leaning in the doorway. “But I think someone needs to be changed!”

A few sniffs confirmed to Hiccup that she was correct.

The quiet woman then grew an idea.

“Then again…since you’ve already got her…”

Catching onto the implication, Hiccup placed Diego back into the crib. He fussed and whined, until Manuel started interacting with him.

“Alright, come on you little stink bomb!” Hiccup cooed, as he left the nursery with Sofia in his grasp. “Let’s get you cleaned up!”

Dolores left her daughter in the hands of her cousin-to-be, and made off for the backyard. Though not before shooting Valka another uncomfortable glance.

Before he’d fully left, Hiccup realized that Valka needed a bit of info.

“When you get in there, you’re gonna see a white bowl.” He said. “When you pull the lever, it will scream at you. Don’t be alarmed, that’s just how it works!”

“I’m pretty sure it’s also magic…” He mused, before continuing on his diaper-changing quest.

This left Valka alone.

Well, as alone as she could be with a myriad of people peeking at her through their doors.

She tried her best to relax, and take in the comfy atmosphere. This really was a beautiful house.

…Then again, Valka hasn’t been in any house for twenty years.

After fumbling around in the bathroom, and deciding that the screaming white bowl was definitely evil, it was time for breakfast to start.

And Valka felt a surge of panic, overtake her.

She hadn’t sat down for a proper meal in decades.

She hadn’t touched a fork in decades.

Could she do really this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Julieta was perhaps the gentlest of Alma’s three children.

That isn’t to imply that Pepa and Bruno weren’t nice people, they were wonderful.

But Julieta had always carried this tenderness with her. A soothing quality, that could make anyone feel at ease. It was no wonder that her gift had to do with healing.

She could never stay frustrated or agitated for too long, simply not having it in her to hold onto such negative emotions for extended periods of time.

The only exception being with anything regarding her children.

If she felt her children were in danger, she’d be overwrought with intense fright. And unable to be fully consoled until she was positive they were okay.

If her children were hurting, a deep sadness would overtake her. A misery that could only be dispelled by seeing her baby smile once more.

And if she’d felt something had wronged her children…

The wrath of God paled in comparison.

Julieta didn’t get loud, when she was angry. She wouldn’t yell, or scream, or fight.

But she’d get this look.

A look that could bring the strongest of men to their knees.

A look that could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas.

A look that threatened to set your soul ablaze.

And this was the look Valka received, the very moment she entered the backyard.

Because Julieta had accepted Hiccup as one of her children. In the five years she’s known him, she’s come to love him dearly.

And she felt that he’d been wronged.

It was a lovely day, outside. A day Hiccup had witnessed blossoming, to his drowsy distaste.

As breakfast was being held in their sizeable backyard, their dragons were out and about as well.

Toothless and Mariposa bounced around the yard. Paprika was salivating at the smell of her rider’s food, and had to be stopped from storming the table. Antonio’s Terrors chirped a little song, which Songbird gleefully listened to. And various other reptilian shenanigans took place.

The sight brought Valka some relief.

Because she knew dragons.

This was her world.

With a much more relaxed disposition, she marched right past the table. Not even stopping to greet anybody.

Immediately, she was all over the dragons. Engaging them as she would the residents of her sanctuary, and immediately earning their trust with her knowledge of their kind.

She’d managed to get all four Snaptrapper heads’ unanimous approval. Oso woke up from his endless napping to snuggle with her. She showed Tonta how to shift into colors the dragon didn’t even know existed…

She was even reunited with Cloudjumper, embracing her old friend with a beaming grin.

The Madrigals watched these proceedings with odd looks. Some with confusion, one with a deep glower.

“She didn’t even say hi…” Augustin noted.

Antonio shrugged. “Honestly? I kinda relate.”

Pepa crossed her arms with a huff. “Well it’s still rude!”

As she said this, a lightning cloud appeared over her head. Sparking with perturbance.

And when there was lightning, there was the Skrill.

Moody preferred to stay in the stables when the other dragons were out, and stay out when everybody was in.

But after sensing his rider’s agitation, he couldn’t pass up on a taste of sweet electricity.

Also, he wanted to see what was making her upset. But if he got to absorb some lightning in the process, he wouldn’t be mad.

Creeping out of the shadows, the Skrill made his presence known.

To everyone else’s exasperation.

“Here comes Moody, ready to ruin another breakfast…” Isabela groaned.

Her sentiment was shared.

Pepa just sighed.

She loved her dragon, but she couldn’t deny that he was rather troublesome.

Valka took note of this strange reaction, and slunk over to where Hiccup was sitting.

“Is there a problem here?” She asked.

Mirabel, who sat beside him, answered in his place.

“Tia Pepa’s Skrill is always starting trouble.” She answered, with a hint of annoyance in her tone. “Always.”

Already, Moody was hissing and snarling to the other dragons. Demanding they stay out of his way.

Some cowered, and did as commanded. Others hissed back, to meet his challenge.

"Moody, no! Cut it out!" Pepa commanded.

They really didn’t need any dragons fights at breakfast.

Again.

But Valka seemed unbothered. Simply eyeing the Skrill with curiosity.

She started to tiptoe closer to the beast, but Felix stopped her with a laugh.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” He snickered. He’d been burned enough times by that thing.

However, Valka was undeterred.

They watched her slowly approach the electrical lizard, and Camilo looked to Hiccup from the other end of the table.

“Looks like your mom count is going back down to one.” He snarked.

Hiccup wasn’t scared. He’d seen what she could do.

Moody saw Valka’s advance, and started hissing dangerously. Lightning crackling across his black and purple body.

But all Valka had to do was hold her hand up, over its snout, and splay out her fingers.

And he dropped like a rock.

The Madrigals were stunned, and Pepa immediately summoned a flurry of frightened snow.

Did she just kill Pepa’s dragon?

But soon after, the Skrill rose up. And Moody wasn’t looking quite as moody anymore.

His head was held low, with a humble glint in his yellow eyes.

He bumped and nudged Valka with his snout, showing an uncharacteristic amount of affection.

He apologetically chirruped to the other dragons present, to their confusion.

And when he trudged over to the table, making a beeline for Felix, the one man he hated most-

And licked him...

They knew something was up.

“What the heck did you do?” Camilo asked.

It was a question they all wanted an answer to. Even Julieta ceased her glaring, for a moment.

Valka was once more a bit uncomfortable, with all these eyes on her.

But she’d never pass up an opportunity to dispense some dragon knowledge.

“I-I just asked him to view you all not as outsiders, but as members of his flock.” She answered, knowledgably. “Skrills are mostly solitary, but every dragons has a bit of that flocking instinct.”

This did nothing to dispel Isabela’s confusion.

“Literally all you did was wiggle your fingers!” She said.

Valka chuckled, knowingly. “Yes, well…I have my ways!”

Antonio was awestruck.

He needed to know more.

“TEACH ME!” He exclaimed, nearly slamming his hands on the table in excitement. “TEACH ME THE WAYS!”

Pepa was overjoyed. Now she didn’t have to worry about her dragon giving her husband a heart attack.

In fact, despite her ever-present oddness, most of the family was now quite impressed with Valka. Even their resident Dragon Masters couldn’t get Moody to calm down for more than a few minutes.

Now if only she’d sit down…

“Er, Miss Valka?” Alma called, watching as the woman continued to frolic with the reptiles. “As fun as that looks, surely you’d like something to eat?”

It was her very polite way of saying “Take your seat already, jeez…”

Now covered in grass, mud, and shed scales, she looked even more feral than she already did.

And now that she was at the table, coincidentally across from Julieta, she had a front row seat to the glare the woman was giving her.

As idle morning conversations were had, with Valka trying to remember how to engage in idle conversation, those eyes wouldn’t stop burning into her.

Not when she struggled to remember how to use utensils. Not when she forgot that tearing into your meal like a dragon wasn’t considered good table manners. And not when she melted with pleasure at the taste of such delicious food.

“P-Please, give my compliments to the chef!” Valka cheered, mouth full of food.

Augustin proudly patted his wife’s shoulder. “You’re looking right at her!”

And Valka’s smile fell. Because Julieta did not look happy with her.

That primal, instinctive fear started to bubble up within her. She frantically tried to dart her gaze away, but she always found herself drawn back in by those overpowering eyes.

Everyone else noticed the death glare their usually soft Julieta was giving, and the way Valka was fidgeting, and were suddenly feeling quite awkward.

From further down the table, Hiccup felt that his food needed some extra seasoning.

“Could you pass the salt, mom?”

Two hands reached for the shaker.

And everything stopped.

Both Julieta and Valka’s hands were inches away from the salt shaker, and nearly brushed against each other.

They locked eyes, both wide with shock.

Nobody stirred, feeling like they had their hands on a volatile explosive. One bad move, and KABOOM.

Finally, Julieta regained her glare. She clutched the shaker, and passed it down to Hiccup.

“Here, Mijo…” She uttered, while not taking her eyes off the skittish woman.

But while Hiccup mumbled an awkward thanks, Valka was now confused.

“H-His name isn’t Meeho…” She awkwardly tried to repeat. “It’s Hiccup.”

Anyone who thought it was impossible for Julieta’s scowl to intensify, was quickly proven wrong.

“I call him Mijo, because it means my son…” She spoke, coldly and passionately at the same time. “Because he’s my son.”

The parental protectiveness that oozed through her words was so strong, it was almost like one could physically see it.

Valka’s brow furrowed, feeling both puzzled and a hint of something else.

“He’s not your son…” She spoke, as if stating a basic fact.

Everyone winced, as they knew this was quite possibly the worst choice of words she could’ve made.

The tension in the air was palpable.

Hiccup tried really, really hard to change the subject.

“Hey, so the other day I found this weird looking- “

“He is my son.” Julieta insisted, cutting him off.

Alma felt the need to shut this down.

“I think we should- “

“N-No he isn’t!” Valka rebuked with a snarl, intercepting the old woman’s voice.

In her mind, she was simply stating the facts. But in her heart, twenty years of repressed maternal instinct was exploding into her all at once.

Combined with the fear of an unfamiliar environment, and a feral reaction to aggression, she didn’t know quite how to handle it.

The dragons and Antonio’s animals all kept their distance from the table. The babies were getting fussy. Camilo was enjoying the show.

Augustin slowly crept a hand towards his wife, wanting to soothe her, but also being afraid to touch her.

“Uh…Julieta…?”

Before he could make contact, the healer stood herself up from her chair. Her hands placed firmly on the table, she loomed over Valka with a power that could destroy entire armies.

And she shouted.

“HE’S MY SON BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T WANT HIM!”

All agitation from within Valka vanished. She was left in a slack, stupefied state.

“W-What?” She quietly asked.

“You leave your son, your baby boy alone for twenty years!” Julieta seethed. “And for what? So you could go off and play with dragons!?”

“Where were you? Where were you when he was beaten and bullied, everyday? Where were you when his entire village treated him like a curse? Where were you when his own father disowned him?”

Valka’s shock only increased.

She hadn’t heard any of this.

She looked over to where Hiccup was sitting, as he slunk further down his chair. But Julieta quickly regained her focus.

“Don’t you look at him!” She snapped. “You haven’t earned that right!”

“He thought he didn’t deserve love! He was so alone, so afraid!” She pointed a harsh finger right at Valka’s face. “You could have been there for him! You could have shown him love, when no one else would!”

Her voice was raw, and full of emotion. The aching of a mother, knowing her child was in such a deep pain.

“But you didn’t.” She spat. “You left your child to suffer.”

Pepa’s uncomfortableness had caused an eerie darkness to fall over the yard, thanks to an assortment of storm clouds.

“If you didn’t want him, then fine. He’s mine now. But you can’t just come in here, after all this time, and suddenly- “

“JULIETA MADRIGAL!”

Alma had decided that this had gone on for long enough. With her sternest shout, she silenced her eldest daughter’s rage.

Still fuming, Julieta gave Valka one last scathing glare, before she marched off into the house. Wanting to be anywhere but here right now.

Augustin, Mirabel, and Hiccup all ran after her. Leaving everyone else at the table to wonder just what had transpired.

And a shell-shocked Valka to just sit there, tears threatening to drop from her wide eyes, and mutter a single sentence.

“…I always wanted him…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruno wasn’t the best at flying.

He wouldn’t deny that it was a freeing, magical experience.

But it was a freeing, magical experience that made his stomach do backflips. And always resulted in him barfing up his lunch, soon after.

He tried not to fly if he didn’t have to.

And right now, Bruno felt that he had to.

Valka had abruptly excused herself from the table, after Julieta had stormed off.

Hiccup had promised he’d return to check on her as soon as he was done with Julieta, but Valka didn’t give him the chance.

The poor guy had to balance two upset mothers.

But it wasn’t that Valka didn’t want to see him, she thought that he wouldn’t want to see her.

High above the clouds, Cloudjumper’s namesake, she flew aimlessly. Trying to clear her scattered mind.

In complete solitude.

…Until a rather scruffy man atop a Rumblehorn joined her, soon after.

She looked down, from her standing position on Cloudjumper’s back. Watching Bruno struggle to maintain his balance on his wife’s dragon.

“Okay, okay, okay…eyes forward, back straight, keep your knees steady…” He frantically mumbled to himself, trying to remember his initial flying lessons.

Despite her flurry of emotions, Valka couldn’t help but chuckle at the man’s frenzied attempts.

“W-What are you doing, up here?” She asked, calling over the winds.

“I-I came to find you!” He replied.

A rat flew out of his ruana, and he scrambled to catch it before it could plummet to the ground.

“I just-y’know-kinda wanted to talk about what happened?”

Valka’s mood immediately soured, as she was reminded of the subject of her inner turmoil.

“You see, Juli’s always been super protective of her kids. But this…this is a particular case.”

“And I think it’s because of me.” He said, before he corrected himself. “Well, me and my niece. Her youngest daughter, Mirabel.”

Valka perked up, at the familiar name.

“For a while…Mirabel wasn’t treated the way she should’ve been…” He revealed. “She was kinda seen as…nothing. Because she didn’t have a gift. Every one of her wonderful traits was ignored, because she couldn’t…I dunno-shoot lasers from her eyes or something.”

“Julieta tried to be there for her, but I feel like she thinks she could’ve done more.”

“And with me, well…” He sighed, a crop of bad memories sprouting to his mind. “L-Let’s just say I know a thing or two about being treated like a curse…”

“So I think she’s hypersensitive to this kinda stuff now, because of me and Mirabel. And it just so happens that Hiccup has had…similar problems…” He chuckled nervously. “And when you add her protective, m-mother-ness to it…you get what happened earlier…”

Valka now felt a crushing weight on her heart, at the thought of her son’s past plight.

“I didn’t know…” She murmured. “If I’d have known what was happening, I-I would have returned. I would’ve been there for him…”

“…But I wasn’t…” She admitted, with a deep sadness and regret.

“Well, why not?”

She looked over to Bruno, who was gazing at her with a genuine inquisitiveness.

“I mean-why’d you choose the hermit life?” He asked.

With another sigh, Valka explained.

“I-I thought I was protecting him…I thought he’d be better off without me. I wasn’t well liked in the village, and I…” She groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I was a fool…”

Her child had been suffering. Her child had been suffering because he took after her. And she was nowhere to be found.

How could she even call herself a mother?

“Yeah, well…that makes two of us!”

Valka looked up again, to see the scruffy man laughing.

“I mean, hey! At least your self-exile involved crazy dragon adventures! It was just me and a bunch of rodents for ten years!”

The vermin in his ruana protested at this.

“Hey, come on, I didn’t mean it like that! You know I love you guys!” He cooed.

Bruno’s eyes were twinkling with good humor, despite the rather dark subject matter of their discussion.

Valka couldn’t quite understand.

“How are you so…light-hearted about this?”

Bruno shrugged. “Well…because I know from experience that things can work out.”

“I mean, look at me. Just a few years ago, I was hiding away from the people I loved most. Living in the dusty, cracked walls. I was…I was sure I was gonna die in there…alone…”

For a moment, he grew a forlorn, miserable expression.

But it was soon replaced with a small smile. “And now? I’m back with my family! I can go into town without being stoned to death! I’ve even got my own little branch on the family tree!”

“S-So what I’m saying is…it’s never too late to try and make things better. It’s never too late to turn your life around. You just gotta…start!”

He was honestly just plucking these lines straight from his niece. She gave really good advice.

And they seemed to be having an effect on Valka.

“I…I just have to start…” She repeated.

And Bruno smiled, happy to see that his words were having an impact. He was honestly unsure if he’d be any good at this.

A familiar shriek then filled the air, and the seer knew it was time to take his leave.

“That’s my cue!” He said, as he began to bring Brute into a descent. “Just remember what I told you!”

He was far enough away that he had to shout his final words, but he kind of appreciated the dramatic weight it added.

Like the theater kid he was.

“IT’S NEVER TOO LATE!”

And with that last echoing call, he disappeared beneath the clouds.

Just as Toothless appeared, bursting through the clouds.

“Mom!” Hiccup cried, from atop his back.

“Mom, I’m really sorry about what mom said…” He had to pause for a moment, confused by his own sentence. “I-I don’t want you to- “

“No.”

Valka stopped his apology before it could really get going, a resolute look on her face.

“She was right, Hiccup. I’ve wronged you. I didn’t mean to…but I have.”

Standing on Cloudjumper, she wing-walked over to Toothless. Standing just behind her son.

“And…And I’m sorry. I want to make it right…if you’ll let me…”

In truth, Hiccup wasn’t upset about her absence. It confused him, and troubled him a bit. But he wasn’t angry at her, for not being there for him.

But who was he to deny a request like that?

“Y-Yeah, okay...”

With a choked sob, Valka embraced Hiccup. Letting the tears flow freely, and weeping little apologies.

And they stayed like that, for a while.

Making up for all the hugs that never were.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Julieta had actually come to apologize, but Valka wouldn’t allow it.

She was right, about some things. Perhaps a bit harsh, but she was right.

And she was thankful, that the woman was so fiercely protective of her son. She was elated that Hiccup had a family, when his own family had failed him.

If she ever met with Stoick again, words would surely be exchanged…

Now Valka was devoted to establishing an actual connection with her son.

She’d decided to stay in the Encanto, for a short while. The Bewilderbeast could handle things on his own for a few days.

She knew she couldn’t be his only mother, not anymore…

But who said Hiccup couldn’t have two?