Hi everyone. This is my first time writing in a long while. A warning: if you're looking for straight Hiccup/Astrid or straight Hiccup/Merida this isn't really the place for it. That said, hope you enjoy!
For the first time in a long while, Hiccup was nervous.
Berk's young dragon riders stood in a line before the doors of the great hall. Hiccup had casually wandered through these doors hundreds of times, but they had never seemed quite so imposing as they did today.
He felt Astrid's fingers lightly brush his own. After three years, he still couldn't tell if it was deliberate, but it always felt like a sudden dive on Toothless. Glancing to his left he saw her staring determinedly at the doors with a triumphant grin. On his right Snotlout puffed out his chest, hands on hips, glancing around at the villagers that encircled them, mostly the very old or very young.
Hiccup told himself this was all ceremony. The deliberations occurring inside were all for show, merely a Viking tradition. Never in the seven generations they had lived on Berk had a Viking been turned away.
But he was still nervous.
"Wow, hurry up already" drawled Tuffnut, slouching in boredom at the end of the line.
Just then the large doors were thrown open, and Stoick strode down the stairs, followed by the majority of the village. He came to a halt before the line of teenagers, gazing at each one in turn. Hiccup met his father's eye and received a broad wink, before the chief made his announcement.
"Vikings of Berk! Today, on the first day of spring, we consider those who have come of age in the previous year. We think of their strength." He eyed Snotlout.
"We consider their cunning." He smiled briefly at Astrid.
"We acknowledge their teamwork." He raised an eyebrow at the twins.
"Their learning." He nodded at Fishlegs.
"And we think upon the ways each of them has contributed to life on Berk." He smiled broadly at Hiccup.
"And so we have come to a decision, and that decision is this. Hiccup, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout..." He paused for effect, but his father's face told Hiccup there was nothing to worry about.
"We would like to welcome you into the War Council of Berk!"
The rest of the village erupted into cheers, joined by a few roars from the back of the crowd where their dragons watched with interest. Hiccup found himself grinning. He had heard those same words every year for sixteen years; the war council was simply a meeting of all those villagers who would in theory be capable of fighting, but it was one more step towards becoming accepted by the village, one more way to make his father proud.
One by one the young Vikings walked up the stairs, receiving handshakes and pats on the back from the rest of the council. He briefly caught Astrid's eye; she gave him an excited smile before they entered the hall and the doors were shut behind them.
Once inside, the teenagers were ushered to the front of the group closest to the large table where Stoick stood, with Gobber at his side.
"Right!" he bellowed. "Lets get to it then!" He was answered by a loud cheer from the assembled Vikings. Hiccup and his friends joined in wholeheartedly, and he felt the thrill of inclusion run down his spine. This was being a Viking.
As the noise in the hall quietened down, Stoick drew himself up to his full height and looked down at Hiccup and his friends.
"I've been inducting our young people into the war council for many years." he said, looking around the hall at the assembly. "But nothing compares to this day. For not only is my own son now a true Viking, a day I have to admit I thought I might not see..." Hiccup rolled his eyes as the rest of the crowd laughed. "But now the council has something we've never had before." He paused for effect. "Dragon warriors."
Hiccup smiled in surprise at the unfamiliar term. It made sense, once you were inducted into the war council you were by definition a warrior, but it seemed his father had come up with yet another way to help incorporate the dragons into life on Berk.
"You all know the story of the land to the west" began Stoick, and was answered by a few shouts. Hiccup knew the story well, the beautiful and fertile land where the Vikings could live, if it weren't for the savage inhabitants who drove them back every time they attempted to take it.
"Time and again we have tried to settle there, and time and again we have been pushed back. But now something has changed. Now we have a weapon not one of those clansmen is expecting. Now we have dragons." The hall was silent now, but Hiccup could feel the excitement of the crowd behind him. He felt a bead of sweat run down his back. The fire was in full blaze despite it being what in Berk classed for warm weather outside.
"And not just dragons, but six fierce young warriors who have proved themselves time and time again in battle with the Outcasts, with rogue dragons, and lest we forget, in the battle with the Green Death. Think what we can do, friends, now these young ones are of age and can go into battle with our blessing. Think what they could achieve, what could be won. Think about the land to the west, and how it could be ours for the taking. Think of expanding the village of Berk into an empire, a new land to raise children in, with warmer weather, easy crops, easy hunting." Stoick paced back and forth in front of the crowd, pounding his fist into his palm for emphasis.
"Berk is beautiful, and it's our home, but a second, more hospitable land could increase our power, increase the number of dragons we can house and train, improve our lives in so many ways. And now, with the coming of age of these six warriors, it can be ours!"
Hiccup winced at the noise that erupted from the crowd behind him. He wasn't surprised at the response, people whose opinions could be easily swayed by Mulch would be totally swept up by his father's enthusiasm and leadership. What surprised him however was the intensity of the shout that erupted from Astrid at his father's words.
"Yes! Drive them out! Take their land!" her voice joined the others but there was a fierceness that went beyond her usual tough demeanour. Hiccup was not used to Astrid falling so easily for his father's rhetoric.
But challenging his father was second nature now, and there was a lot he didn't understand about this plan. So taking a deep breath, he stepped forward, turning to face the assembled council. Stoick looked at him suspiciously, but without surprise.
"Wait, wait, everyone quieten down for a second, okay?" Hiccup called, waving his arms. Behind him he heard his father sigh deeply.
"Didn't we want to take the Westland to escape the dragons? Why do we need to risk their lives now, turning them into weapons, when we no longer need to escape from them?" As the words left his mouth he realised how ineffective they sounded compared to his father. He caught Astrid's eye and she scowled.
"Hiccup" sighed his father. "Now we're not killing each other, they've bred, multiplied, and so have we." There were a few snickers at this, and several new parents blushed. "We're running out of living space for both Viking and Dragon. Don't you see how a new space to live could improve the lives of the dragons, as well as those of your village, your family?"
"Well yeah, if the land was there for the taking." Hiccup replied. "But what about the clansmen? Why do we need to displace other people to help ourselves?" At this his father's face darkened and there were several indignant yells from the crowd.
"Hiccup are you feeling mercy for those devils? Need I remind you how seven generations ago they drove us here to Berk, when it was a rock infested with vicious dragons? That they have killed hundreds of us each time we have tried to return? That we could rarely even try, what with the constant threat of dragon attacks?" He slammed his fist on the table.
"Now we have made peace with the dragons, we can finally avenge ourselves. We can finally avenge our kin." He paused, and looked at his son intensely. "We can finally avenge your mother Hiccup."
The hall erupted into cheers and angry shouts. Hiccup was unable to reply, his father had caught him off guard. He found himself remembering the angry six year old whose mother had never come home from the raid. How he had vowed to become stronger, to slay dragons until he felt he could slay a man, to take revenge on his mother's killers. His desire to prove himself to his father, make it into the war council by killing a dragon by the time he was sixteen had been what had led him to Toothless.
When he was sure of himself, Hiccup was one of the bravest Vikings on Berk. But Hiccup was not sure of himself now, and he found he could not meet his father's gaze. He silently returned to his friends who were looking at him with exasperation. As his father called the room to order and began outlining potential strategies, Hiccup shuffled back into the crowd, made his way to the smaller side doors, and slipped out into the relatively cool air outside.
What I really need is concrit. This really doesn't read exactly right to me, but I've been over and over it and don't know what else I can change.
Thanks for reading!