The team gathered at the Clubhouse early in the morning, they were all eager to get a move on. They were excited to go home and see their families after months away. Just like Rune had said, they all packed light; in fact, Vyra and Sten didn't pack anything at all. They still had enough clothes at home they could wear while the rest packed their necessities.
"Alright team, are we ready to go?" Rune asked.
"Heck yeah we are! I can't wait to get home and have some of mother's meatloaf" Thyra fantasized as she rubbed her stomach at the thought of devouring it.
"I can't wait to hit up the winery. Find out what my folks have been up to with the new brew" said Forde.
"I'm eager to see what Berk is like. It sounds like a fascinating place from all your stories" Virgil said with some excitement.
"Just hope it hasn't started snowing there or you wouldn't get to see much" Rune said.
"I wonder how the people would welcome us. I mean we are heroes after all" Vyra spoke.
"Ehh. I'm pretty sure they'll treat us the same. We've not done anything that special. Hiccup and the gang have done way more and they're still the same people" said Sten.
"But you can't just write off what we've-"
"I think it's time we do more flying and less talking. Don't you agree?" Rune cut in before it turned into a full blown argument.
"Agreed! Onwards!!" Thyra yelled as she spurred Rampage into the air.
The Rumblehorn roared loudly as he announced their departure. The other riders followed suit as they left the Edge under the protection of the Night Terrors and Forde's Thunderdrum.
It took them a good number of hours but they finally made it home. Berk at last, illuminated by the orange sky from the sunset, it was a sight to behold.
"Berk at last!" Sten cheered.
"Never thought I'd say this but I've missed this place. A lot" said Vyra.
The mobile landing pad was under construction in the village square with multiple homes were being built while some were getting an extra floor added to them.
"Looks like there's been a lot going on. A lot of building" Forde said as they flew in.
"Well Virgil, this is Berk. I hope you enjoy your stay here" Rune said.
"I think I will" he answered.
"Speaking of a place to stay? Where are you going to stay? We were so caught up in going home, we forgot to discuss that" Thyra pointed out.
"That's true" Forde agreed.
"I'll ask my parents. I'm sure we'd have extra room" Rune offered.
"Really?" Virgil asked. Rune smiled and nodded. "Thank you so much Rune"
The group landed in the village as all eyes were on them. The runaways had returned. Murmurs and stares were everywhere and the group and the people were tense until the twins arrived.
"Look who finally decided to show up" said Ruffnut with a sarcastic tone.
"Did you guys get home sick? Miss you mummies and daddies?" Tuffnut teased as he and his sister chuckled.
"You guys never change" Hiccup said with a shake of his head. "Glad to have you guys back. I wonder what brought you home, unless you did miss mom and dad?" he said cheekily.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny chief" Rune said as he got off Sandstorm.
"I mean it could be true" he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I didn't believe the scouts when they told me who arrived. Guess you all came back for another round of training?" said Astrid as she hopped off Stormfly.
"No" they all chorused. "It definitely wasn't that" Sten added.
"My back is still sore" Virgil said rubbing his back.
"Well I don't think we need to give it much thought. It is their village too after all. They are welcome to come as they like" Valka said, her tone definite.
"You're right mom. Welcome home guys" Hiccup said with open arms.
The group settled in and one by one they trailed off to their homes. Virgil and Rune decided to take a walk to his farm. Rune used the walk as an opportunity to show Virgil around a bit. Proper sightseeing was pushed to tomorrow but this was more like an introduction. As rune got closer to his home, he began to notice that things looked very different from what he could remember. Strange tall structures had been erected and the house looked bigger than last time. Something had definitely happened.
"Well that's new"
Sandstorm affirmed his statement with a grunt.
Rune, Virgil, Sandstorm and Hothead walked to the door of the house and gave it a knock. Rune could only imagine the look on his parents' faces when they saw him, what would they say? How would they react? He was kind of nervous with everything. He'd hoped that he hadn't shattered the bond that they shared. That would be a trait he would've carried over from his past life. Not something he would like.
They waited for a while and there was no answer. He knocked again and waited for a while and still no answer.
"That's strange" Rune said as Sandstorm became serious.
"What is?" Virgil asked, concerned.
"They usually get to the door within a couple of minutes. They never take this long. Something must be up" Rune said as he took hold of his axe.
Vigil pulled out a dagger from the side of his right boot and one from its holster on the left side of his waist. The two looked at one another and nodded, all the effort they had put into their training was coming to light. They were well trained in clearing and entering a room in foreign territory and knew what to expect.
Rune opened the door swiftly as Virgil rolled through the door with his daggers in hand, ready to strike. Rune walked in next, his axe ready to be swung as Sandstorm and Hothead accompanied their riders in, ready to fire when needed. Rune signaled to his dragon to check upstairs while the other three cleared the ground floor. They swept through the living room, the dining and the kitchen and there was still no sign of them.
"See anything up there boy?" Rune asked as Sandstorm came down the stairs.
Sandstorm moved his head from left to right, telling Rune that he didn't find them. Their next objective was to go through the back door. Maybe they were out in the farm attending to one of the animals or something. Rune opened the door to the back and what was before him, he never expected in a million years.
Rune's breath had been taken away by what he saw. He lowered his axe as he took a few steps forward, trying to wrap his head around what he was looking at.
"My oh my" Virgil said as he lowered his blades.
Hothead and Sandstorm accompanied them out of the door as both riders stood there in awe; especially Rune.
"Mom, Dad. Just what have you been up to while I was away?"
The roar of a Rumblehorn caught their attention as it walked towards a set of stables. Terrible Terrors slept in a large birdhouse like structure. Groncles snored loudly from their mud pit, Deadly Nadders chased after chickens, a Snafflefang slept in the sheep's pen with the animals all clustering around it, a Monstrous Nightmare fast asleep in its pen, Mudrakers flying above. So many things were going on, Dragons and farm animals everywhere; it was basically a dragon ranch at this point.
"Dear, it looks like we have visitors" Wout said as he gave chin scratches to a Zippleback.
"Don't worry Wout, I've got them. Come on girl" Diana hopped on the back of a Hobblegrunt and flew towards Virgil and Rune.
"Sorry we couldn't get to the door. We don't get visitors this late. Is it okay if you come back tomorrow?" She asked as she dismounted her dragon.
It was clear that she didn't recognize Rune, or maybe the presence of Virgil threw her off.
"Are you sure I look like a visitor?" Rune asked.
Diana was confused, what did he mean by that. She turned around and as her eyes fell upon Rune, she gasped in shock. She immediately called out to her husband.
"Wout! Wout! You better get down here fast. I hope I'm not seeing things" she called.
"I'm on me way"
Wout held on to a metal pole and held on to it as he slid down. He made his way over to his wife wondering what the fuss was about. Her voice didn't sound scared, after all, she had her dragon with her but still, he needed to check what was going on.
"Alright dear, what is all the fuss abou-"
Wout stopped mid-sentence as he saw Rune. He couldn't believe it, his son had returned. After leaving without a word, after having them worried for so long, he had come home.
"Rune, is that really you?" he spoke softly.
"Yes Dad, it's me"
"Where have you been all these weeks? Why did you leave so abruptly? Why didn't you tell us?" Diana questioned.
"Mom, Dad, I'm truly sorry for the way and manner in which I left. I know I had you all worried and concerned about where I was and how I was doing. In hindsight I really wish that I could've said something before leaving rather than just vanishing like that. I am very sorry for the pain I put you all through"
"Please find it in your hearts to forgive me"
His tone was very sincere, he could only imagine how they felt, how heartbroken they were. What he did was unfair, he could see it now in hindsight and was ashamed of himself. He held his head low and couldn't even look at them. His reasons were solid but the execution wasn't. While he was still drowning in his guilt and remorse, he felt the arms of his mother wrap around him. He froze in shock as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Of course we forgive you" she said softly.
Wout got in on the action as the family shared such a touching moment. Virgil watched on, a little smile forming on his face with a tear drop falling from his eyes. The last time he saw his parents was the night before Dane attacked. He missed them dearly.
"Just promise us never to do that again. I don't want you sneaking off like you did, just tell us plain and simple. You got it?" Wout said.
"Yes Dad, no more secrets" Rune said with a little laugh.
Their hearts were filled with joy as they were reunited once more.
"Where are my manners? Mom, Dad, meet my friend Virgil. I said he could stay with us a few days since he's not from Berk" he introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all" Virgil said with a bow.
"The pleasure is hours. I think there's an extra room he could use. I hope its still in order. Those Terrible Terrors are something else when they're in the mood for destruction" she chuckled.
"About that, what in Odin's beard happened here? I barely recognize the place"
"Well after you left, your father and I decided to grow the farm to take our minds of worrying about you. Although Hiccup gave us his word to find you and your friends, we feared the worst had happened." She explained.
"So we tried our hands on dragons, adopting a Snafflefang and Hobblegrunt to start off and it just kept on going. Now we own our very own dragon ranch" Wout added.
"Dragon ranch? Now that's cool" said Rune.
"If you think it's cool now, wait until day breaks. Things get really crazy. It's hard enough work looking after the farm animals on their own, but adding dragons into the mix changed things a lot. We had to do a lot of building and remodeling to accommodate our new lifestyle and even though it can be stressful at times. Both of us wouldn't change it for the world" said Wout.
"You couldn't have said it better dear. I'm sure you two must be starving. I'm sure I can whip something up in the kitchen to satisfy those hungry bellies of yours"
"Alright!" Virgil cheered.
Sandstorm chirped at Rune calling his attention. He was hungry too.
"Sorry Sandstorm but I think you'll have to wait till dawn before I can catch you some fish" Rune apologized.
"Not to worry, we've got loads of fish. Leave your dragons to me. I'll make sure they're fed"
Sandstorm and Hothead roared for Joy at Wout's words. Their hunger will be quenched and their stomachs would be satisfied. What a day.
"Come on you two. Let me take you to the feeding station. I think there might be a few crabs in there too"
Sandstorm was esstatic. He leaped for joy and tugged Wout along so that they could get there quickly.
"Oh Sandstorm" Rune said with a light laugh as he shook his head.
The Yakkerson family was finally reunited once more. At least for a couple of days, there was so much to talk about and so many stories to share.