Valka was not a typical Viking mother.

The former chieftess of Berk was not what most people saw as a Viking. She abhorred the violence that took up the world she'd known all her life, and the dragons everyone thought were absolutely evil she saw as kind, intelligent creatures. She'd been expected to carry a baby to term and give birth to a male heir. She'd been expected to raise that son to maturity as the next chief and dragon-killer. She'd been expected to support her husband in every endeavor, whether she agreed with it or not. She'd been expected to kill dragons.

None of that was true.

She'd given birth two months before it was time, and she'd given birth to twins. She and both of her children had been taken from Berk before they reached six months. She'd been unable to support her husband's dragon-killing, and it was because of her aversion that she and her children had been taken by Cloudjumper—a massive Stormcutter dragon that now served as a surrogate father to her twins for the three years they'd been in the Alpha's Nest. Even now, the twins refused to believe they weren't part dragon themselves.

Oh, how she loved them.

Hiccup was the elder of the two, by a mere five minutes. He was the inquisitive one, always getting into trouble by being where he wasn't supposed to. He took after Valka with his auburn hair and green eyes.

Signy was the younger twin and the smaller of the two. She was always tripping over her own feet, trying to keep up with her brother and the Terrible Terrors that followed him into trouble. She was more in line with Stoick—wild red hair and blue eyes.

When they worked together and got going, Valka could feel her hair going gray.

"Mama!"

Valka looked up to see her daughter crying. Signy was holding her elbow, which was bleeding from a large scrape. She rushed over to dry her tears.

"Shhh… you're fine, Signy," she soothed, stroking her daughter's hair.

"I-I tripped over Pip!" she hiccupped, burying her face in her mother's tunic. Valka cradled her youngest and headed to the cave, where Hiccup was digging for bandages.

"Good, Hiccup," Valka told him, sitting Signy on a crude chair Valka had made. Hiccup handed her the bandages and she patched Signy's elbow.

"Are you okay, Sig?" Hiccup asked his sister.

"I'm fine."

"Just try not to run so fast—your sister has trouble keeping up with you sometimes."

"Just until Bramble's bigger!" chirped Signy, her scrape now forgotten. "Then I'll be able to outrun him!"

"Nuh-uh!" Hiccup retorted.

"Yeah-huh!"

Valka laughed and shook her head at their argument. The twins were as different as night and day, but they were closer than most Viking siblings Valka had seen. Hiccup protected Signy and Signy tagged along with him. It was balanced, like the sun and moon, and Valka wouldn't have it any other way.

"Shush!"

Valka listened to Hiccup and Signy's giggling, knowing that they were planning something. At the age of five, they were more rambunctious than ever. Signy had her Nadder, Bramble, while Hiccup had yet to find a dragon for himself. That didn't mean he wasn't learning to ride, of course—Valka allowed him to ride Cloudjumper or a Nadder named Spitfire to begin. However, that left more room for the twins to escape the nest for short bursts under Cloudjumper's watchful eyes.

"Oh, my," Valka said, playing along. "Wherever could those two be?"

She was suddenly set upon by both children latching themselves onto her legs.

"Gotcha, Mama!" they sang in unison.

"You'll both be mighty hunters one day," Valka laughed.

"Like Cloudjumper or the King?" asked Hiccup with large eyes.

"Yes, or maybe you'll be like me—a rescuer." Signy released Valka's leg and jumped up and down with excitement. Her brother followed suit.

It was moments like this that Valka lived for.

"Tell us again about the Vikings."

Hiccup's request for a bedtime story was not an uncommon one. Though neither of them believed they were of pure Viking blood, they loved hearing the stories, save for the dragon killing. Their favorites were the stories of Berk, the place their mother had been born.

"Which one do you want to hear?" Valka asked.

"Tell us about Papa," Signy requested.

"Your papa…" Valka tapped her chin. "Your father was the mighty chief of Berk. He would protect the village with his life if he needed to."

"What did he look like?" Hiccup asked excitedly.

"He was a giant of a man. When you two were born, he could hold each of ya in the palms of his hands. He also had wild red hair and blue eyes."

"Like me!" Signy gasped.

"Yes, like you."

"Did he love us?"

"Of course he loved ya. Nobody was more excited than him the night you two were born."

"Where is he now?" Signy's voice was quiet, as if she were afraid of the answer.

"He's still on Berk, as far as I know." Hiccup's next question was the one Valka had dreaded.

"Why isn't he with us?" Valka took a deep breath.

"You know not all people see dragons the way we do. On Berk, when I lived there, they hated dragons. They saw it as honorable to kill them. Your father was the same way, and…"

"You left with us?" Signy inquired.

"No, Cloudjumper took us from our house. It was on fire, and I'd rushed in to save you both. I couldn't bring myself to harm Cloudjumper and I grabbed the two of you. Your father… he threw an axe and spooked Cloudjumper, who took us with him in order to protect us."

"Would Papa still love us if he knew that we loved dragons?"

"I have no doubt in my mind that he would." She kissed each of their foreheads. "Now, get to sleep. We have work to do in the morning." Valka exited the room to attend to her nightly patrol with Cloudjumper.

Once she was gone, Hiccup sat up in bed.

"Signy, are you awake?" he asked.

" 'Course I am," she mumbled, sitting up next to him. Due to their small size, the twins shared a bed to conserve heat and space.

"Do you think Mama was right about Papa?"

"About him being a giant?"

"Yeah, and that he hated dragons as much as she says he did."

"… he must hate them even more now, since one took all three of us. He doesn't have anybody left."

"Poor Papa."

Hiccup—not for the first time—was grateful for his mother and sister. He wasn't alone, and he wished his father was there, too. Then they'd be a complete family.

"…hey, Sig?"

"Yeah, Hiccup?"

"I don't think we're part dragon. I think we're fully human."

"Humans stink, except for Mama and Papa."

"And us."

"And us, right."

"Maybe there are more good humans, like us."

"Maybe."

"We should be nice to all humans unless they're really mean. Then we'll know we're not the only good ones."

"Yeah. Good night, Hic."

"Good night, Signy."

Yeah, chapter one is a little lackluster. It will get better. This is just to establish Valka and the twins' relationship. Most stories like this start with Valka's kidnapping, but I chose to start with little childhood snippets.

Next time, we'll check up on Stoick and the Hairy Hooligans.

So long and thanks for all the fish!