A Nadder's Mystery Chapter 10

Varinn had no idea what he was going to say when he met his dragon-sister this time. Fortunately, she took the initiative.

YOU'RE THE FIRST HUMAN THE DRAGONS
HAVE WANTED TO TALK TO, ASIDE FROM
THEIR OWN RIDERS. YOU REALLY ARE A
BRIDGE BETWEEN THE TWO SPECIES.

"Uhh... okay. Is that a big deal?"

IT'S VITAL IF WE'RE ALL GOING TO GET ALONG,
LONG-TERM. WHEN PROBLEMS ARISE, WE'LL
NEED SOMEONE WHOM BOTH SIDES TRUST.
YOU'RE WELL ON THE WAY TO BECOMING
THAT SOMEONE.

Varinn glanced back at Fluffernut, who was staying in the background. Just her presence gave him some comfort, and the strength to disagree with this huge black dragon.

"I'm only twelve, remember? I don't know if I'm ready for a big, scary destiny like that."

AT LEAST YOU GET TO CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY.
MANY PEOPLE DON'T GET THAT CHOICE.

She lowered her head to look Varinn in the eye. What lay behind that reptilian gaze? What was she thinking? A few minutes ago, her actions had been so achingly familiar, but now, up close, she seemed like a creature from some other world. Varinn couldn't meet that gaze for very long; he turned away.

VARINN, TALK TO ME. WHAT'S WRONG?

"I want my sister back!" he blurted out. After all his recent heroics, not to mention his Viking upbringing, crying was the last thing he wanted to do, but he couldn't stop himself.

Astrid let out a sad croon and nudged him with her nose. He pulled away sharply. "No! I don't want to hear your dragon noises! I want to hear you tell me to go sit on a Nadder spike! I want to hear you call Rangi a little troll!" He buried his face in Fluff's shoulder and sobbed, "I want you to punch me in the arm and say, 'That's for being such an idiot!' just once more! Oh, may the gods smite you and everything that looks like you! I want my sister back!"

The two girls let him cry until he began to regain his composure. Then he felt a nudge on his arm. Astrid had gently batted him with her paw.

THAT'S FOR BEING AN AWESOME BROTHER

He stared at the runes in the sand table, then at Fluff. Her eyes looked a bit moist as well.

"Varinn, some of us don't get any part of our loved ones back. At least you've got the parts that matter the most. Doesn't that count for something?"

He dried his eyes and took a deep breath. He forced himself to look back into those huge green eyes that regarded him so seriously.

She was a dragon. She was black and scaly, and had wings and a tail. She had a dragon-husband and had laid eggs that hatched into two dragon-children. She breathed fire, and spoke a language that he could never understand.

Somewhere inside her was a girl named Astrid, who had grown up with him and tormented him and protected him and taught him a few things about family, and courage, and life.

How could anyone resolve such a contradiction? He was only twelve! He wanted to run. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch someone. He settled for flinging his arms around her thick black neck and crying some more. Fluff made eye contact with Astrid over his shoulder, nodded, and quietly left.

Varinn and Astrid stayed up for half the night together. Edda went out looking for her son, saw him on the second floor of the Nest, and returned home satisfied; she knew he was probably safer there than anywhere else on Berk. When Hiccup returned from his night flight, he found other things to do in other parts of the village.

The next morning, while Varinn helped his mother clean up after breakfast, he said, "Mom, can I ask a favor? Mr. and Mrs. Thorston are taking a two-week trip to visit her relatives on another island, starting tomorrow. That means the twins can do anything they want to Fluffernut, with no adults around to hold them back."

"I've noticed that they don't treat their cousin very well," Edda nodded. "What are you asking of me?"

"I'd like to know if Fluff could come and live with us for those two weeks, and sleep in Astrid's room."

"You've answered your own question, Varinn. That's Astrid's room."

He took a long, deep breath. "Mom, Astrid isn't going to sleep in that room, ever again. We both know that. I don't like admitting it any more than you do, but... that's how it is. I asked Astrid about it last night, and she doesn't mind."

Varinn wasn't the only one who had a hard time dealing with Astrid's changes. Edda still struggled with denial. But she was the mother around here. Who did her son think he was, to tell her how to relate to her own daughter?

Astrid would never sleep in that room again. It was the first time anyone had had the courage to say that to her face.

She'd always known it was true, but when she considered it herself, she felt like she was betraying her daughter somehow. Hearing it from someone else, even her own twelve-year-old son, made her feel like less of a traitor to her own family.

"What, exactly, are you intending, son?"

"I just want to do something nice for Fluff. She's nice to everybody else, but she never gets a break."

It was true that Fluffernut was nice to everybody. Edda had a sudden thought – exactly how "nice" had this girl been to him? How "nice" did he hope she would be?

"Is there something going on between the two of you that I should know about, Varinn? Are you more than just friends?"

He smiled, a bit self-consciously. "Yes, Mom. She's kind of like a sister to me."

Edda was doubtful. "If you think she can take Astrid's place, you're very much mistaken."

"I know that, Mom. One of the things I figured out last night was that there are many different kinds of sisters in this world, and a lot of them don't wear spiked skirts. But they're all awesome."

Edda thought about that, then thought about it some more, and finally nodded. "I'll speak to your father about it. Be forewarned – I'm going to watch you two like a hawk, just to make sure nothing goes on between you!"

Varinn's smile was genuine. "Thanks, Mom! I'll go tell –" He was interrupted by a scratching at the door. His smile faded. "Oh, boy. That's Scrubby at the door, and I'll bet I know what he wants!" He opened the door. His face fell even further.

"That's not Scrubby," Edda observed.

"No, that's his mother," Varinn moaned, "and I think she wants her turn to get cleaned up! Now you know what I'll be doing for the rest of the day."

"I suppose you're going to round up your fellow Terrible Terrors to help you?" she asked sympathetically.

"No, Mom. I made that deal with Nadder-blue-flies-in-the-storm all by myself. They can volunteer to help if they want to, but this is my responsibility. Can I borrow some clean rags to help polish her up?" Edda gave him a few of her dishcloths.

"Thanks, Mom. We'll be down by the beach if you need me for anything." He faced the big blue dragon. "Okay, let's go. You're awfully big, and there's only one of me, so the sooner we get started, the sooner you'll be clean and shiny." He had no idea how much she understood, if anything, but she walked next to him without any argument. Scrubby and several other baby dragons tagged along, curious.

Edda watched them go, and wondered at the changes that life kept throwing at her. First, her daughter turned into a dragon. Now, her son was turning into a man.

THE END

o

A/N The story behind the story:

In case anyone didn't notice, this is a Viking adaptation of "Scooby-Doo," with two young men and two young women solving mysteries together, with the help of an animal whose name sounds like "Scooby." I toyed with the idea of using the canon cast, a few years before the movie, but that would mean six characters when the Scooby theme called for four. My four aren't copies of the Scooby teens; they're meant to be interesting characters in their own right, without being based on anybody. If you've read my other stories, you've already met Varinn Hofferson; he's appeared, briefly, in several of them.

This is the first story I've written with the intent of writing sequels. The trouble is, I'm not so good at thinking up mysteries. If any of you can think of a worthy plot line that tickles my fancy, I'll consider it, and give you credit if I use your idea.