#//Lamenting Who oh WHO will eat the Pile Em Up she’d made for dinner | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

maedarakat · 7 years

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Drabble: Comfort

Summary: After the events in “Sins of the Past”, Heather and Dagur prepare to leave for home - but not before their friends do something to ease their heartache.

“Oh. My. Thor. This stuff is amazing,” Tuff said, just a bit intelligibly since his mouth was full. “I’m so glad we added the salt and yak butter.”

“Right, but I think the cinnamon and sugar is what adds the real piece de resistance!”

“Agreed, that too is enjoyable. Though I tend to prefer it more savory, salty - ooh, maybe I should add some garlic? No. Onions? Definitely, no - onions always make me cry. It's so sad. It's gotten to the point I don’t even have to chop them anymore -”

Ruff lightly elbowed him, jerking her head to the open doorway of their hut. “Hey, speaking of crying, look.”

Tuffnut turned his head, wiping an arm across his mouth, just in time to see Dagur and Heather walking by, heads lowered. Heather was audibly weeping, tears streaming down her face, and her brother didn’t look much better - pale and shaken, with an arm around her shoulders as they headed to the Clubhouse.

“Oh, right. Snot had good news for us, while Dagur had some bad news for Heather.”

“Poor things. And all on an empty stomach too, I’ll bet. Hey, you think they’d want some clouds of corn for the trip back?” Ruff grinned, and gestured to the bowl they’d made. Tuffnut appeared to consider it.

“I don’t know if this would work alone as sympathy food. It’s too light by itself. Too fluffy. I’d personally want to eat this plus everything else that could conceivably be tasty after finding out news like that.”

“Huh. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Tuffnut glanced at her and grinned. “If what you’re thinking is what I’m thinking, then yes - debemos ir a la cocina, inmediatamente!”

---

Dagur sighed and nudged the mug of mead toward Heather, who had her arms pillowed under her chin. She didn’t reach for it, but her eyes flicked toward it briefly and then away in disinterest.

“Come on, sis. It’s a long trip back to Berserker island, but I don’t want to go until you’ve eaten something.”

“I’m not hungry, Dagur. And you haven’t eaten anything either,” Heather sighed.

Her brother winced, and looked down at his own untouched plate and mug. There was an apple, a few berries, some venison jerky, and a few rounds of tack. Not inedible fare, but it certainly didn’t have that Berserker kick to it. Dagur figured he’d get them home and cook them something better than this - but right now he was drained and exhausted.

What he was not expecting at all were the Twins walking into the Clubhouse, each balancing a bowl in each hand, and also a platter on their heads. Tuff had a covered basket looped over his arm as well.

Dagur’s fuse was short and his heart aching too much to want company. As funny as they looked, he would have asked the Twins to give them some space, but Tuff winked in his direction, giving him pause.

“Hey, guys. Hope you weren't thinking of flying back to Berserk on empty,” Tuffnut supplied, setting down a bowl of what looked like white fluffy pebbles. Dagur wrinkled his nose, sitting up to inspect the food . . . even if it was the weirdest food he'd ever seen. Ruff was already setting down another bowl next to it, only these ‘pebbles’ smelled of cinnamon and sugar cane.

“Yeah, not after the day you guys have had. Eat with us, and as much as you like.” Ruffnut also put down a platter of deviled eggs next to the popcorn, along with a bowl of cracked almonds, walnuts, sunflower seed kernels, shelled pumpkin seeds and dried fruit chips.

“That one’s another specialty,” Tuff told them. “An old favorite. We call it ‘trail mix’. I wanted to call it ‘mixed nuts’ but I guess that doesn't sound as appetizing.”

Dagur was actually reaching for that one when Chicken gave a delighted squawk, landing on the table and pecking greedily at the trail mix.

“Chicken!” Tuff admonished lightly, picking her up. “Don't be rude, brood. In la casa de Thorston, our guests dine first.” He nevertheless made her a small pile of popcorn and trail mix, before setting down a tray of yet more food items balanced on his head.

One was a pitcher of cold yak milk, the other a plate of what looked like round tack, except made with pecans, coconut shreds, flower petals, and a honey glaze. They smelled amazing.

“Those are Mama Nut’s cookies - she used to make ‘em for us whenever we were down in the dumps,” Ruffnut explained to Heather, who was already reaching for one. “We just learned how to make ‘em ourselves living out here.”

She smiled at Ruff and bit into one of the buttery cookies. Her eyes lit up, and Dagur felt a heaviness in his heart start to lift a fraction. “Oh. This is good! Dagur, you should try one.”

Heather all but waved it under his nose until he took a bite. She wasn't just being polite; it really did taste good. And somehow, the fact there was food that they didn't have to prepare? That was comfort in itself. “Mmm! It really is delicious - all of it! We couldn't possibly eat all of this though.”

“We got you, no worries. You can pack up as much as you want for later.” Tuffnut had a shifty grin on his face as he reached beneath the table for something. “I even have a basket for such an emergency. If you don't mind, I gotta check first for stowaways though.” He set it down in front of them and lifted the soft blanket he'd put over the top.

Piles of yellow fluff blinked open their eyes and yawned, then immediately started peeping.

Heather made a sound Dagur was certain she'd deny later and reached into the basket, pulling one out to cup warmly in her palms. “Is this where Chicken was? Raising a family? They're so adorable! Did you name any of them?”

“Oh, we named all of them. Wingnut, Mushroom, Clucknut, Puffnut, Fluffnut, Dustmote and Chicklet. Only problem is we can't tell which is which anymore.” Ruffnut shrugged and snagged a deviled egg. “They'll figure themselves out when their plumage comes in.”

Dagur tossed another handful of popcorn into his mouth, and subtly edged the plate of cookies toward Heather. “And what did you name the rooster?” he asked Tuffnut, with a teasing grin.

Tuff’s expression went stormy for a moment. “Fustercluck,” he answered with a scowl.

Heather snorted and Dagur joined her and Ruffnut in laughter, while Tuff made a show of crossing his arms and appearing to sulk. Playfully, Heather threw a few kernels of popcorn at him and he tried to catch it in his mouth - surprising them all by succeeding.

This resulted in a game of sorts - everyone trying to see who was the best at catching the fluffy white kernels in their mouths.

Dagur had to admit, this was far better than just going back home to a lonely Chieftain’s hut, where he wouldn't even begin to know how to comfort his sister. Here there was fun, tasty food, adorable baby chicks, and best of all, their friends. He paid no attention to the time or how dark it was getting, noticing that Heather wasn't too concerned with it either.

He had absolutely no problem spending the night in the stables with Triplestryke if she wanted to sleep in her own hut tonight.

There was something to be said about grief and good food. They picked the plates clean, and Dagur was touched to see Tuffnut encouraging Heather to eat her fill, simply by sneaking cookies onto her plate and topping off her mug with cold yak milk - all the while distracting her with the silly tale of how he had tracked down his wayward Chicken.

He almost didn't realize that Ruff had been doing the same thing for him, as he too listened to the story. As the night wore on, more stories were told and shared - and yet more of the Riders joined them for dinner - which became a bit more of a potluck than any sort of planned meal.

Snothat brought a mean potato salad, Astrid brought some mackerel and turnip kabobs, (that everyone politely avoided, save for one greedy dive bombing Terror - which soon afterwards was heard lamenting its life choices from one of the watchtower roosts) Fishlegs had brewed a nice soothing herbal tea, and Hiccup had his Night Fury flame-broil some salmon.

The night was spent pleasantly - a rare few hours of peace on the Edge that slowly came to an end as people headed off to catch some sleep. Fishlegs and Hiccup were wiped, and left first, though more at Heather's urging. She had a knack for telling what her friends needed.

Before any of them knew it, twilight was barely lightening the sky and Dagur had caught himself yawning almost as much as Heather. His sister glanced over at him as Astrid and Snotlout began carrying away the empty dishes.

She inclined her head toward the Twins who'd fallen asleep just a few minutes ago, surrounded by sleeping chicks nestled in their hair and the crook of Tuffnut’s arm.

“Should we get them to bed?” Dagur asked quietly, once Astrid and Snotlout had left.

“Hmm.” Heather just looked at them, fondly. “Didn't even have to sing this time. Yeah, let’s make them more comfortable.”

A few minutes later found all four of them in the stable. Chicken had gotten her chicks into the basket with her, and Dagur set the sleeping brood down gently, near Sleuther’s warm flank. He still had Tuff on his back, snoring gently in his ear. Heather was already laying Ruffnut down against Sleuther, as Windshear curled around them to complete the warm circle.

His sister certainly knew her dragon Riders; the Twins hadn't woken up even as they were carried to the stables. Had Heather not been so calm, it might even have been concerning.

Dagur laid against his dragon, letting Tuff rest against him. Amazing how the boy never woke up, just muttering about yak butter and salt and . . . nuzzling his shoulder? “Cuddly, aren't they?”

His sister chuckled and sat to his right, gently arranging Ruff to sleep across her lap and taking off the girl's helmet. “They certainly can be. I can't keep track of the times I've woken up during a bad wind-storm to find them in a pile on my floor. Or on my bed.”

She laughed at her brother's raised eyebrow. “It's not just me. They've done it to Hiccup, Fishlegs, Snotlout . . . Astrid only once, since her first reaction upon waking with someone unexpected in the room is to hurl knives and scream.”

Dagur couldn't help laughing at that. “I can only imagine how that must have gone,” he snickered.

“Complete pandemonium,” Heather agreed, smirking. “Which is every moment on the Edge, especially with these two on it.”

“You're fond of them. I think I am too. We should definitely have more nights like this - but on Berserker island. Maybe we can host a party for all the Riders? Show off our own cooking skills.”

Heather grinned warmly and Dagur felt something in his heart lift. “That sounds like something to look forward to, brother. So long as you remember to keep Berserker chicken off the menu.”

Chicken gave a burble of mild concern, but fell right back to sleep.

In no time, both Berserkers had joined her.

#rtte #spoilers #dagur #heather #ruffnut #tuffnut #rtte spoilers

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