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spacenintendogs · 6 years

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Figuring It Out

Httyd rarepair week day 6: “So, did you miss me?” This takes place after the events of “Return of Thor Bonecrusher” when they’re all talking afterwards and Snotlout runs forward to hug Fishlegs. I saw the prompt and immediately thought of the beginning of the episode when Thor Bonecrusher made his return and Snotlout says “I missed you so much” (I’m sorry this is probably really dumb lmao) It’s under “Read more”

Fishlegs smiled as Snotlout ran forward and hugged him. As Fishlegs tried to hug back, Ruffnut and Tuffnut jumped onto either side of him, Fishlegs nearly losing his balance. But he didn’t mind, they were happy to see him as he was to see them.

Hiccup walked away to go talk to Astrid, leaving the group hug. Fishlegs was, admittedly, exhausted, but he was happy his friends had missed him.

They had missed him, right? Wait, had Snotlout missed him? He had to, otherwise they wouldn’t have been hugging at the moment. But Fishlegs felt the need to ask the question to ease his mind.

Fishlegs pulled away from Snotlout, leaving his hands on Snotlout’s hips. Snotlout looked confused. “Snotlout,” Fishlegs said, “Did you uh.. miss me?”

Snotlout’s confusion shifted into something Fishlegs couldn’t figure out. Snotlout was grinning, okay so he was obviously happy, but there was this look in his eyes. He’d read books where a character’s eyes would be described as “twinkling” or “sparkling” and that was the best way Fishlegs could describe the way Snotlout’s eyes were right then. And his expression was familiar, like Fishlegs had seen it before, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“I miss you so much,” Snotlout said, throwing his arms around Fishlegs’ neck, Fishlegs returning the hug.

The way Snotlout had spoken was also familiar. He’d heard Snotlout say it before, but not to him. To someone else. And that person was not coming back, at least, Fishlegs hoped Thor Bonecrusher was not coming back. Then again, Snotlout made it clear, multiple times before, that he preferred Thor over Fishlegs.

But the sincerity in Snotlout’s voice, as he told Fishlegs, not Thor, that he missed him. And given the events that had occurred not even an hour ago, he felt as if Snotlout’s preference over him and Thor and changed. Otherwise, they would have stopped hugging awhile ago.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had let go of Fishlegs, and he hadn’t even noticed until Fishlegs felt a pair of lips connect with his cheek. It was a quick kiss, but a kiss nonetheless. Fishlegs let go of Snotlout, both of them blushing. “Don’t tell anyone... and honestly, I don’t know why either,” Snotlout said, rubbing his eyes.

“There has to be a reason why,” Fishlegs said, Snotlout scoffing. “Because there’s a reason for everything?”

“Yes,” Fishlegs said, deciding to ignore the eyeroll Snotlout gave him. “I’m serious, think about how you’re feeling right now, besides confused.” Fishlegs didn’t know if that would actually help, but maybe Snotlout explaining how he felt would lead to some revelations.

Snotlout stared at Fishlegs, as if the answer would be right there on his face. Snotlout eventually let out a sigh. Fishlegs wondered if Snotlout was giving up. And then Snotlout kissed Fishlegs on the lips. Fishlegs squeaked, his heart skipping a beat. Snotlout stopped kissing him, “Sorry,”

Fishlegs blinked, “Uh, it’s fine,”

“No, really, I’m sorry about... everything that happened,” Snotlout said. Fishlegs nodded. “It’s okay, it was kind of both of us... I’m sorry Thor hit your face,” Fishlegs lightly traced the welt that had formed on Snotlout’s cheek from Thor’s blow there earlier. “And knocked you unconscious, multiple times.” Snotlout shrugged, “I mean, it wasn’t really you that did all that. You’re much nicer,”

Fishlehs couldn’t help but smile.

“What?” Snotlout looked annoyed.

“You like me,” It was probably a bit childish that he said that, but he couldn’t have cared less in that moment. Because he figured something else out too.

Snotlout rolled his eyes, obviously trying to hide the fact he was embarrassed, “Yeah, yeah, whatever Fishface, shut up.” Fishlegs grabbed Snotlout’s hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“If it means anything, I like you too,”

It must have meant something because Snotlout grabbed Fishlegs’ shirt and pulled him in for another kiss on the lips.

“Hey, you two done yet? We wanna go back to- WOAH!” Ruffnut had walked over and caught them. Fishlegs and Snotlout pushed each other away, faces going bright red. “Ruffnut, it’s not what you think! We were just uh,” Snotlout’s mind was scrambling for any kind of explanation, as was Fishlegs’. “Giving each other mouth to mouth?” Ruffnut said. She had a sly grin on her face.

“No, honestly, you guys good, because we all wanna go back to the Edge.” Ruffnut said. The grin wouldn’t leave her face. Snotlout was pouting, “Yes, we’re good, come on Fishlegs.”

They walked over to the others, Ruffnut right behind them. She went right over to Tuffnut and began whispering to him. Definitely about what happened, because Tuffnut became very excited.

As they all left the caverns, Fishlegs heard Snotlout murmur “Whatever, they’ll tell the whole Archipelago anyways,” and intertwined his fingers with Fishlegs’.

It was that moment that Fishlegs realized: he’d missed Snotlout, too

Uhhhh, like, comment, subscribe I’ll see you guys for the next video bye

#httyd #httyd fic #fishlout #fishlegs x snotlout #httyd rarepair week #httyd rarepair week 2018 #httydrarepairweek #httydrarepairweek2018 #rose writes #uhhhh #i'm sorry about the amateur writing #but these two make my heart sing #they should be canon #it'd make more sense than what's most likely gonna happen in the third movie #they're canon in my heart

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ashleybenlove · 6 years

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Title: No More Sixsome

Prompt: 27th Oct: “Can’t you listen to me?”

Fandom: How To Train Your Dragon

Pairing: Hiccup/Astrid/Fishlegs/Snotlout/Ruffnut/Tuffnut (polyamorous gang), Snotlout/Mala

Word Count: 1015

Rating: General

Warnings: Arranged marriage

Disclaimer: I don’t own the source material in this fanfic. That’s to whatever company or person owns it. I would never claim to own it.

Notes: There are probable influences from fandom and whatnot in this story. In particular, @evilwriter37’s “Ball, Chain, and Dagur” (warning for sexual assault) because of the whole arranged marriage trope. For HTTYD Rarepair Week 2018 @httydrarepair. This fic takes place during Race to the Edge, particularly season 4 and later, but diverges from canon. This is also on AO3.

And it is under the read more.

“Look, I’ll talk to my father. I’ll see what he has to say about this whole… you having to marry Mala deal,” Hiccup said.

“Can’t you listen to me?” Snotlout said. “I don’t want to marry her! My heart belongs to the Dragon Riders. I’d rather marry you guys.”

“I know, I know,” Hiccup said soothingly. His hand caressed Snotlout on his back in an attempt to be comforting. “That’s what we want as well.”

Shortly before the gang were to head back to the Edge after all that happened when Hiccup was kidnapped by bounty hunters during the celebrations on Berk, Hiccup spoke with his father about the Mala wanting to marry Snotlout issue.

“I mean, she’s an incredible ally, and Thor knows my Riders and I need some allies in our fight against Viggo Grimborn, but she also wants to marry one of them. Snotlout’s supposed to compete in these trials and apparently, she was foretold that someone would save her and they would become her King? But Snotlout’s been incredibly clear. He doesn’t want this. And if I’m honest, I don’t want it either.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to cement an alliance with marriage?” Stoick asked.

“Because Snotlout deserves to marry a pers— people he loves?” Hiccup replied. “Duh?” Hiccup did a gesture with his shoulders and arms that could basically be described as a shrug.

“‘People’?” Stoick repeated. “‘People he loves?’”

Hiccup yelped mildly, realizing what he said.

He paused and then quoted his own father, “‘There can be no secrets between us.’ Yeah. The Dragon Riders and I, the ones from Berk— so not Heather— we’ve been romantically involved since shortly after we arrived on the Edge.”

“Is it serious?”

“I’m sort of hoping to one day marry the five of them,” Hiccup said. He smiled hopefully.

Stoick nodded. He then sighed.

“It’s going to be four,” Stoick said.

Hiccup gasped like he’d been stabbed.

“I’m sorry, son. Snotlout has to marry Queen Mala. He has to compete those trials successfully. No failing on purpose or funny business.”

Hiccup interlocked both sets of fingers, looked down at the table, placed his interlocked hands so they were resting on his forehead with his thumbs framing his forehead, effectively hiding his face. He released a heavy sigh.

“I hate this,” Hiccup whispered. “And I have to break the news to him.”

“I’m sorry, son. But, I am very happy that you’ve found love and happiness with your friends,” Stoick said, gently.

“Said right after you turned a sixsome into a fivesome,” Hiccup said, softly, sadly, still hiding his face.

He then got up and left the hut.

“What did Stoick say?” Astrid asked, moments after Hiccup came out of the hut.

They stood some feet from the hut, and Hiccup quietly joined them in the circle they were standing in. He saw them holding hands.

Astrid looked at his face and let out a soft groan.

He looked so sad.

She took his hand, and he felt a tiny bit better.

“Hiccup, what did he say?” Snotlout asked. “Do I still have to go through with it?”

Hiccup sighed sadly.

“Does he know about us?” Fishlegs asked.

“Yeah, my dad knows about us; I told him,” Hiccup said. “He’s happy for me; for us, I guess. But… he also said that Snotlout has to compete in those trials. Despite, you know, being told that he doesn’t want to do ‘em or marry Mala. And that he has to successfully compete them, and no failing on purpose. Kinda cancels it out.”

Hiccup walked over to Snotlout and hugged him, kissing him softly.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Hiccup whispered.

He felt the rest of the Riders close in and they were hugging the two of them as well. It would have been quite a wonderful lovely hug if they hadn’t been so despairing.

Snotlout successfully competed in the trials as was mandated to him. Thankfully, they managed to hold off the wedding until after the Dragon Hunters and Dragon Flyers were finally defeated. So, they at least got to keep Snotlout with them for a little while longer.

But, the wedding, while it should have been a happy day was actually a sad one. They were losing Snotlout from their little group. They would head back to Berk minus one Dragon Rider. They wouldn’t be a sixsome anymore.

“Snotlout’s parents are here,” Astrid whispered to Hiccup, as the five of them sat clumped together.

“Ew, Spitelout,” Tuffnut whispered.

“I was just about to say that,” Hiccup said softly.

“Disgusting how happy he looks that his son is marrying a Queen. This is just bragging rights for him,” Fishlegs whispered. He sniffled. He paused. “Not that Mala isn’t lovely. I do like her as a person.”

“But yeah, this sucks,” Ruffnut whispered.

Hiccup hummed in agreement.

They were going to witness their best friend and romantic partner marry someone else. For an alliance between their two islands, as opposed to just an alliance between Mala’s island and Hiccup’s Riders. Stoick had felt it prudent for Berk to gain an ally. While the Riders planned to stay together as a polyamorous group after this, it was a break-up considering they were losing one of them. And Mala, as much as she liked and supported them, did not want to share Snotlout.

So, they sat here, feeling miserable, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

And once the ceremony began, Hiccup could hear Fishlegs sniffling, clearly crying. Ruffnut, who was on his left, had dropped her head on his shoulder, and he could feel tears drop onto his tunic as a result. Tuff, on Ruffnut’s other side was sighing sadly. Astrid’s hand was in his and she held on tighter and tighter as the ceremony progressed. He didn’t want to glance at her but he could guess she may have been crying. And then she let out a shaky gasp and that was like a gut punch for him. He had been trying to keep it together for them, but…

Nope.

He let out a soft sob.

#httydrarepairweek2018 #httydrarepairweek #how to train your dragon #Race to the Edge #ot6: we’re fast we’re fearless and we ride dragons #ot6: where hiccup goes we go #Hiccup and the Gang #hiccup #astrid #fishlegs #snotlout #ruffnut #tuffnut #ashleybenlove fanfic #Mala #stoick #fanfic

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maedarakat · 6 years

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27th Oct: Non-human characters // “Can’t you listen to me?”

Title: Tempest in a Teacup

An angry, forsaken heir to an abandoned throne finds unexpected solace in the form of a captive wild sea creature.

——-

The prince watched from the docks, expression impassive, cold, and unimpressed.

Once again, the armada had returned with the Berserker colors furled up rather than on display - much like a beaten dog crawling to its master, tail between legs.

Dagur made sure he didn’t hold back in showing his disappointment, glaring at the ships as they pulled into harbor.

Savage appeared in his direct line of vision first, actually having the gall to make eye contact with his prince, while wiser-seeming men kept their gazes strictly on what their hands were doing.

As they lowered the gangplank, Dagur didn’t move an inch, intent on staring Savage down until he explained why, once again, they’d dared to return empty-handed.

“Greetings, your highness!” Savage called down to him. Dagur scowled and his eyes narrowed.

Was Savage smiling? Why was he smiling? The standards hadn’t been gloriously displayed, which would have indicated that Oswald was aboard with them.

If this was someone’s idea of a ‘fun surprise’, they were going to be flogged. Well, after the joyful reunion, of course.

Unfortunately, Oswald’s figure didn’t jump out from behind Savage and yell a cheerful hullo, which only further darkened Dagur's expression.

“So, what have you all brought me then, that you think I’m going to be so pleased this time, that I won’t throw you in the oubliette for another month?”.

Savage’s smile faltered and he turned a shade or two paler, which appeased the prince somewhat. Nonetheless, he rallied quickly.

“Sir, w-we did not find your father this time either, but we have secured you a way to find him! We could carry it down of course, but it may be a little simpler if you -“

An inhuman shriek of fury, accompanied by frantically swearing sailors, drowned out the rest of Savage’s words. There was a crash and three men ran frantically across the deck of the ship, pursued by what looked like an entire wine cellar’s worth of barrels. They jumped off the ship to avoid being crushed, landing with several distinguished splashes into the harbor.

Dagur’s curiosity was piqued at least.

He stormed his way up the gangplank just in time to see two other Berserker sailors wrestling a netted figure into a huge tub of sea water.

The creature disappeared into its element, going to the bottom of the tub, but Dagur had seen enough to know what it was.

Not that it made any sense. Those things weren’t supposed to be real; they were from fairytales . . .

At a loss, he turned to stare at Savage.

“Is . . . Is that a - ?”

“Yes, my Prince. As the legends say - a creature of prophecy and fortune! If we tame it, you can use its powers to find what is lost. Not just your father, but perhaps even treasures and sunken pirate ships, full of gold!”

Dagur waved off the man’s excitement. “Where did you even find it?”

“We captured it among the rocks, near Caldera C-“

Savage paused abruptly, staring in alarm over his prince’s shoulder. He began to shout an warning, but Dagur had already whirled to face the threat.

An enormous onslaught of water struck him full on, with a force great enough to chap skin and soak his entire body from head to toe. Through salt-stung wet eyes, he glimpsed the merrow’s tail fluke slip back out of view beneath the surface of the tub.

The prince had been wearing an embroidered silk and brocade tunic today, which was probably ruined now. Water dripped from his red hair, running down his face and the back of his neck, and even his woolen socks were drenched.

Dagur spat out a mouthful of seaweed and flotsam and tried to take a calming breath.

It did not work.

“I see. Mm hmm. I get where your tiny little pea brain was going with this, Savage.” Dagur started coldly, winding himself up to scream Savage into the deck.

“And perhaps - by your third month in a cozy little oubliette - you’ll begin to realize that YOU are the WORST EXCUSE FOR A CAPTAIN THIS ARCHIPELAGO HAS EVER —“

Dagur’s tirade was derailed almost embarrassingly prematurely by an uncontrollable and violent fit of sneezing.

“Are you alright, sir?” Savage asked warily, after it lasted more than a few seconds, nearly doubling the Berserker prince over.

A strange noise came from the vat of water, not unlike dolphin chatter. It had a mocking, laughing ring to it, which didn’t improve Dagur's mood one little bit.

“Take that thing to the bathhouse beneath the palace and chain it there if you have to. I’ll deal with the rest of you idiots later,” Dagur snarled when he was able to, wiping his face. He sniffed, tried pointlessly to wring out the tail of his soaked tunic - which was yep, definitely ruined - and stomped angrily back down the gangplank.

The effect of his furious departure, while honored by the dutiful silence of his armada, was completely ruined by the squeaking slosh of wet boots.

——-

Truthfully he hadn’t expected to see the creature again that night, but by the time Dagur reached his rooms in his soaked-through clothing, his sinuses had swelled shut and he had caught a chill that no fireplace could seem to warm.

He set aside the half finished mutton stew, having no stomach for it, and made his way down to the baths, hoping that steam and hot water would help drive out the sickness.

The bathhouse looked more like a palace than where the actual throne was kept. Ceramic tiles glazed in deep indigos, sharp azures and shimmering blues added a calming effect, while having the added benefit of making the area easy to clean and able to trap steam.

The place had been crafted beautifully and efficiently by local artisans in the village. It was easily the most luxurious structure Oswald had ever commissioned, and Dagur had to admit, one of the few he made use of consistently.

The water came from the island’s natural hot springs, piped straight into the tiled tubs with the direction of a lever. Cold well water could be added with a bucket to bring the bath to a lower temperature, but Dagur liked his baths near-scalding. Right now an uncomfortable ache was attempting to seep into his muscles and lymphs, and he’d just as soon boil it out of himself.

He had all but forgotten the merrow was down here, and went about undressing to his small clothes as the tub filled.

A series of clicks followed by a dismayed trill made Dagur whirl, snatching up a scrub brush and a wooden bucket as an impromptu measure of defense.

No wave of water came at him this time; Dagur saw that the merman had been chained in place as he commanded . . . and somewhat more cruelly than he’d intended.

The creature stared at him miserably through long fronds of greenish gold hair, with eyes the color of storm clouds over the sea. Several of his scales were bent the wrong way or missing altogether, and bruises the size of fingerprints showed where he had been held still for the men to restrain him in place.

The tiled archway and shelf had been put there for decoration and usefulness, as a place to utilize the steam of the baths after one was finished soaking.

Currently, the chain wrapped around the main joist beam was holding the merrow half off the ground, not quite allowing him enough slack to recline. His wrists were shackled together behind his back and chained to the beam, forcing his body to bend forward in an uncomfortable bow.

Someone had found a heavy weighted chain to snap around the base of his tail where it fanned out into bluish fins. Dagur had to wonder how many men had been slapped stupid until they thought of that.

He tossed down the scrub brush and walked toward the merman, losing his apprehension. Dagur wasn’t interested in causing him any pain, but the creature made a noise of alarm and writhed in his bonds, eyes going wild with panic.

“Calm down, it’s okay,” Dagur grumbled, not used to being soothing. He wanted to see the merrow up close, as this was probably the only real chance he’d get to examine him alone.

There was a collar of metal around his neck and the merman tried to twist away when Dagur reached for it. Ignoring his attempts, the Berserker managed to grab a hold of the collar’s lead.

An ear splitting shriek was his reward. He cursed and dropped the lead as his head throbbed with pain, and covered his ears until the merman finally quieted.

Dagur cautiously lowered his hands, and reached out again - this time to gently touch the creature’s shoulders. He tried to make the merman lift his head so he could see his face better, and paused when he noticed the red tinge on his fingertips.

The merman was bleeding . . . ? They weren’t stupid enough to have damaged him on purpose, Dagur reasoned, but then what - ?

It didn’t take him very long to find that the collar around the merman’s throat had a cruel ring of sharp metal spikes on the inside. It had obviously been used with some force earlier, possibly to literally drag him down here. Dagur’s earlier light tug must have aggravated existing wounds.

So they hadn’t been trying to hurt him, but they hadn’t been trying to not hurt him either. Dagur scowled and made a note to have a few words with whoever had been in charge of transporting the merrow.

For all his gruffness, his fingers were gentle and quick at finding the release on the collar. He carefully pulled the gruesome thing away, eliciting a trill of relief from the merman.

He would have to rinse out those wounds if they were going to heal. Dagur grabbed a bucket and dipped it into the hot water of his bath. He returned to the merrow’s side, and carefully poured its contents over the lacerations on the merman’s neck, most notably the sensitive looking slits on either side.

Wait, those couldn’t be wounds - they were far too symmetrical. He moved the merman’s long hair out of the way to get a better look. Soon enough the slits moved on their own, trying to breathe through the humidity and moisture in the air.

Dagur tsked. The merrow was going to need better than a steamy room to live in while he was here; he was a creature of water for pity’s sake. Whoever had done this was an absolute hack, and the prince was going tell them that - right before he tossed them off the highest watchtower.

He undid the shackles on the merman’s wrists and tail, keeping him propped up against him with an arm around his waist. He began to drag him to the nearest tub, only for the creature to start struggling violently. The tail came up and Dagur let go swiftly to dodge the slap, causing the merrow sprawl hard across the tiled floor.

At the impact, another of the creature’s wild inhuman screeches made his head throb anew.

“Would you SHUT UP!” Dagur roared, trying to block his ears and quite forgetting his temper.

The result was instantaneous and not at all what Dagur was going for.

The merman began to wail despondently. Tears fell from his eyes, bouncing and rolling across the floor in every direction, as though someone had snapped apart a necklace of beads.

It took Dagur a few stunned moments to realize the ‘tears’ were genuine pearls. Huh. Well, he hadn’t heard of that ability in any of the tales, but at least the awful shrieking had stopped.

Dagur rubbed at his temples, watching in consternation as the merman’s fit continued. The creature cried inconsolably until at least two pillowcases could be stuffed with pearls. At length, the crying finally tapered off, leaving him to just lie there - a soggy keening mess.

The Berserker prince looked him over, feeling strangely wretched. After a moment of indecision, he knelt down cautiously to gather the limp merrow up into his arms and carried him toward the filled tub.

The water was still hot, though it had cooled significantly, and the prince sighed in blissful relief as he stepped in. He lowered the merman gently into the pool, who - despite the earlier tantrum - was clinging to him like an otter pup to its mother.

The merman flinched at the heat of the water, but Dagur remained calm and didn’t drop him. “It’s okay, see? It’s not burning me and I’m just a mortal human of Midgard. Have you ever been in a hot spring before?”

The blank stare made Dagur wonder if the merrow could understand human language. He lowered both of them deeper into the water, suppressing an involuntary laugh when the merman hid his face against Dagur’s neck, tickling his throat with whiskery fronds of hair.

His mother had told many stories of merfolk, and the one thing common in all of them was that they caused storms, sang beautifully enough to wreck ships, and foretold futures. It was also common wisdom that while a mermaid might reward you for being kind to them, it would also cause vast misfortune if you were to mistreat one.

By degrees, the merrow uncurled and allowed himself to sink down into the hot water so that his gills were submerged. He kept his webbed fingers on Dagur’s arms, looking up at him with a wary, guarded expression.

“It’s okay,” Dagur sighed, “I won’t order those idiots to chain you up again. Just don’t attack me.”

The merrow looked relieved at that. He tilted his head and looked at Dagur calculatingly.

“What? Oh. Are you hungry or something?”

There was a pause and slowly the merrow shook his head, long hair following the currents of the motion.

Encouraged by the fact he was getting answers, Dagur gave him a rare smile. “Do you have a name?”

Another pause, and a short burst of dolphin chatter was his reply.

“Didn’t quite catch that, sorry. Try again, but slower?”

The merman repeated himself and though Dagur tried his very best to pronounce what he’d heard, he just couldn’t make those particular noises with a human tongue. Eventually, the merrow took Dagur's hand and turned it so that his palm was facing up.

Dagur recognized the first rune he traced into the palm of his hand, and then the second one, and so on. “Tuff? Tuffnut? Odd name for a merman. I guess I thought it would be more intelligent sounding or something.”

Tuff scowled, and slapped the water with his tail, clearly offended.

“Okay, look - it’s not a bad name. It just doesn’t suit you. I just figured you’d have a way cooler name, like Grendel or Marbendlar or something.”

Tuffnut seemed to consider that for a moment, then wrote something else in the palm of Dagur’s hand.

“Garffiljorg is okay, but it’s not a better name for you,” Dagur snorted. “It’s okay, we’ll stick with ‘Tuff’. My name is Dagur, son of Oswald.”

The merman said something. In porpoise language, his name sounded rather nice.

“Thanks,” Dagur grinned. Tuff gave him an exasperated eye roll and wrote something else in his hand.

{No, I said your name sounds stupider than mine.}

“Huh?! It does not!” Dagur snapped, yanking back his hand. “I’m a Berserker and the leader of our tribe - which means my name is far superior to yours!”

Tuffnut’s response was to go beneath the water and yank Dagur's ankles out from under him.

The resulting scuffle flung water every which way as the two of them wrestled for dominance in the tiled tub. Dagur captured Tuff firmly into a Berserker chokehold, only for the merrow to arch just slightly and whack Dagur in the back of the skull with his tail fluke.

The blow was a little too hard. Bright pretty colors exploded in his vision and Dagur fell forward, his weight also pushing Tuff down to the bottom of the tub.

Frantic porpoise chatter brought him around, and he was suddenly flat on his back on the smooth tile, with a long heavy weight on his chest and gray eyes staring down into his. Even upon his waking, Tuff didn’t slide off him, just burbling with what sounded like concerned affection and gently patting his cheek until the prince seemed fully aware of his surroundings.

Dagur blinked as he realized the merrow had dragged him out of the tub after knocking him out, apparently not willing to let him drown for some reason.

Tuff watched him, folding his arms across Dagur’s chest and resting his chin over them.

So apparently . . . the way to win a merrow’s heart was by losing a wrestling match to him? Huh. Dagur supposed there could be weirder methods out there.

He also couldn’t deny the fact that he felt better than he had in years, since . . . since Mom died, and his little sister went missing, and now his dad . . .

Tuff’s soft understanding trill didn’t help the moisture building up in Dagur’s eyes a bit.

The prince tried to sit up and shove Tuff away, like he always pushed people away when grief threatened to get the better of him.

As scrawny looking as the merrow was, he had enough strength to prevent Dagur from moving much. Tuffnut wrapped his arms around Dagur’s body and held him in place.

He opened his mouth and softly, began to sing.

The song had no words, as siren songs never seemed to in legend. That at least made sense. What didn’t was that the song somehow had emotions more poignant and real than words of any language could give justice to.

There was the pride and gratitude of an old man as he cradled his newborn great grandson. A woman’s bewildered shock as she reunited with a lover she’d long thought dead from battle. There was the relief a lost dog felt upon finally catching the scent of his home, followed by the wild bursts of joy the family’s children felt upon seeing their beloved pet safe and sound, running to meet them from the woods.

There was the unrelenting heartbreak of a mother dragon returning to find her nest raided, eggs smashed and half-eaten. The hopelessness of a lone surviving child, as she surveyed the open graveyard a tsunami had made of her entire village.

Dagur could not hold back his tears under the onslaught of that song, but he was sobbing too deeply to order Tuffnut to stop. The merman stroked his face and held him close, but he sang until the prince had no more emotions to fear encountering.

Tuff’s song eventually tapered down and he lifted Dagur's face to kiss away the salt of his tears.

He leaned into the caresses, accepting the comfort for once. Tuffnut turned his palm over and wrote a question.

{Do you want me to show you? I can look for his future, to see if he has one. Or I can look at yours to see if he ever gets found.}

Dagur looked at him through exhausted eyes. “You can’t just tell me where he is, can you? W-Where - even if he is dead - we could put him to rest?”

{Sorry. We can tell the future, that’s it. The vision won’t bring you a lot of details. It can save you a lot time, though - to know whether you still have time. Otherwise, wouldn’t you just be sending out ships full of Berserker men and women all the time for nothing? I mean, it can’t be great for their families either.}

Dagur winced. He’d actually never thought of that . . .

He took a breath and nodded. “Please. Show me.”

Tuffnut got off him and crawled back to the tub’s edge. He touched the waters surface and beckoned for Dagur to come see.

With more bravery than he felt, the Berserker prince came to the merrow’s side and looked into the darkening pool.

He saw nothing. Not the bottom of the tub through clear water, and not the dark behind one’s eyelids when they didn’t want to be awake - simply the concept of nothing itself reflecting back at him.

Which meant . . .

Tuff’s arms opened for the prince once again as grief and numbness overtook him. This time the warmth of companionship and understanding was there to cushion the blow. It didn’t stop the pain, but it helped him move along.

After what seemed like hours, Tuffnut reached back into the water and touched its surface, dispelling the last vision and replacing it with a different one.

In this one, a girl’s hand reached out to a small silver form, cowering in the corner of a cave. Blind and helpless, it crawled into her arms and curled against her chest, allowing her to give comfort.

She spoke to the hatchling gently . “You’re going to be alright, little one. I’m sorry I couldn’t help your mother, but I can take care of you.”

Dagur raised his head at the girl’s voice, blinking. The vision changed - now the girl was seeing her village, her island from far up in the sky - whooping as great silver wings carried them both through the clouds and currents.

“Who is that?” he asked quietly. He felt like he should know, but he hadn’t seen her face; just what she had yet to see and experience.

{Your sister. Sorry, but while you were crying earlier, I . . . I sort of felt that you still missed her. I understand - I miss mine too. Anyway, I figured if she was also gone, the pool wouldn’t have changed. And you’d already accepted her loss a while ago . . .}

Dagur stared and reached for the vision, trying to figure out from what she was seeing on dragon back where her island was.

{Sometimes we get lucky, with the visions. I’ve never foretold a dragon rider’s fortune before. Also, I know where those islands are. They’re very close to my home, near Caldera . . .}

A few pearls dropped into Dagur’s lap. He stared at them, and then touched the merman’s face. Tuff’s eyes were brimming over.

“I promise you,” Dagur said, cupping the merrow’s face. “We’ll sail for Caldera Cay first light tomorrow, and I’ll release you into the waters of your home myself. If Heather’s near, then I know where to start looking. You’ve done more than enough for my sake.”

Tuff blinked and gave the prince a watery grin before tackling him into a hug that nearly sent both of them headlong into the tub.

After the fierce embrace, the merrow pulled back and once again took Dagur’s hand.

{I’ll come with you to find your sister. Its okay, I trust you now.}

Dagur was shocked for a moment. Then he grinned, touched. The merrow was choosing to go with him? Also, nobody had ever said they trusted him before. He pulled Tuff into another hug, and didn’t let go for quite some time.

——-

The island was beautiful and lush, looking untouched by human hand at first appearance. It took some careful study through the lens of a telescope to see that there was a village there, hidden well by the trees.

At first, it seemed like it would be impossible to navigate the ship into the harbor. They sailed around the entire island before Tuff took it upon himself to dive into the waters and find the ship a big enough inlet.

When the Berserker ship showed up in their midst, it caused quite a stir. Villagers came out of their boathouses to stare, though not at the merman - who kept beneath the surface and out of sight.

Dagur made every effort to meet the protocol of politeness his father had attempted to teach him a while ago, honestly spooking some of his men. The villagers became far more welcoming once they realized the newcomers had no ill intentions.

Heather’s parents were sent for, and after exchanging stories the mystery of how Dagur’s sister had wound up on their island was solved.

It was Tuff who found the girl first.

Heather was by the brook side, all of ten years old and absolutely enamored by the merman, chattering at her in dolphin a mile a minute. Tuff turned to see Dagur and Heather’s parents, beckoning to them excitedly.

Heather’s mother stopped in her tracks and grabbed her husbands bicep. “Is . . . Is that a . . ?”

“Merrow. Yep,” Dagur said proudly.

“How did you find one? I searched for them all the time when I was a girl just Heather’s age.”

“Oh, we found each other. And trust me when I say your daughter and my little sis is gonna find something all on her own that’s at least twice as awesome.”

Heather looked up at their approach, her green eyes going from her parents to Dagur.

“Who are you?” she asked, no trace of fear in her voice.

Dagur was here to make sure that never changed.

“Sweetheart, this is your older brother - Dagur, son of Oswald, King of the Berserker Tribe.”

Heather blinked, first at the red haired stranger she hadn’t seen since she was four, and then back at the merman. She pinched herself, eliciting a chuckle from her mother and father.

“Heather, you’re not dreaming,” her mother assured. “And you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to.”

Dagur stepped forward, dressed in white gold armor, hair neatly braided and trimmed. “Hello, little sister. You probably don’t remember me, but it’s okay if you don’t. It . . . It was such a long time ago that you were on our island.” He had to swallow a lump in his throat.

Heather offered him a shy smile. “Hi.”

“. . . Hi.” Dagur returned awkwardly. Tuff chattered something and beckoned him to come closer, looking slightly exasperated. When Dagur and Heather stood a few inches apart, both looking flustered and unsure, Tuff rolled his eyes.

He picked up two sticks of driftwood and held them up, indicating they represented the Berserker siblings, then put the two together in a hug.

Heather broke out into giggles and obliged, stepping forward to hug her brother close. Dagur gave a hitching rasp, swallowed, and then grinned, hugging Heather back hard enough to lift her off her feet. Impulsively, he whooped and swung her in a circle, causing her to giggle to become outright laughter.

Tuff burbled fondly at them both.

——-

The time to say goodbye had come.

Heather had opted to stay with her parents, but with plenty of visits planned. She had yet to find Windshear after all, and the merrow had told Dagur it was best to let the future take its course.

The village was now under the protection of the Berserker Clan, and it would become widely known throughout the Archipelago not to harm so much as a blade of grass on that island, unless you wanted the entire Berserker Armada breathing down your neck.

Wisely, most tribes decided not to risk it.

Tuffnut put his arms around Dagur’s neck as the prince lifted him to carry him to the railing. Below, the small rocky islands of the Cay teemed with life. And occasionally the bewildered faces of peeping mermaids and merrows.

Upon seeing Tuff in Dagurs arms, several of them called up. One scolded like a seagull, another barked like a seal.

The sound of dolphin chatter made Tuff grin and it didn’t take long to pick his sister out from among the bobbing merfolk. Ruffnut scowled at him and gave Dagur the hairy eyeball, then chattered a fierce command at Tuff.

He didn’t need it translated. “You better get down there before she bites my nose off,” Dagur teased.

Tuff rolled his eyes, grinning. He gave his sister a cheeky look and then cupped Dagur’s face, kissing him deeply.

This of course caused an absolute cacophony below; the seagull mermaid abruptly sounded like she was choking on a ship biscuit, while the barking selkie’s tirade cut off with a startled yip.

Tuffnut gave them all a shit-eating smirk and gave Dagur one last soft peck on the cheek before diving down to join his friends and sister.

The dolphin chatter was the last to fade beneath the waves and it sounded like Tuff and his sister were having quite the argument.

“Where to now, sir?” Savage asked.

“Home,” said Dagur, without hesitation. “We go home now. There’s a lot of work to be done for our people before winter, now that Berserker Island has a king again.”

Startled, the Berserkers looked at each other and grinned. It looked like they were going to get to spend a lot more time with their families from now on.

End

#httydrarepairweek #tuffgur #httydrarepairweek2018 #tuffnut #dagur #mermaid au

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