This idea has been bugging me for a couple of weeks, but when you study for 3 exams at the same time, it's kinda hard to concentrate on anything else... Only last weekend I had the time and energy to sit down and write it properly.

The events take place at night, a few hours after the ending scene of the second film, from a slightly different point of view.

Well then, enjoy this piece of angst!

"Come on, Skullcrusher! It's getting way too late for – Aaarrgghhfff…"

Eret, son of Eret, slipped backwards for about the tenth time this evening, landing flat on his back with a frustrated groan. The Rumblehorn was a massive dragon indeed, but Eret had captured and tamed many dragons in his life, being the best dragon trapper the world has ever seen, and some of them were definitely bigger and nastier than this one. It couldn't be that hard to convince Skullcrusher to go to the stables with the other dragons.

Or at least that's what he thought. At the beginning, Eret tried to calm the dragon down with soft words and some generous pettings below his chin; when that turned out to be completely useless, he moved to pulling the dragon's harness with all his strength, trying to force him to walk up the hill leading to the dragon stables, but it was all in vain. Skullcrusher simply refused to follow his new master. However, to Eret's surprise, the dragon didn't try to attack him – he just kept pulling at the opposite direction, roaring impatiently.

Eret sat on the grass and rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. "Ye're gonna keep me here all night, aren't yeh, yeh stubborn beast?" he said.

The dragon roared again and Eret sighed. "I thought yeh were the Chief's dragon. Aren't yeh supposed to be perfectly tamed?"

"Is everything alright in here?" said a soft voice behind him. Eret turned his head and saw Hiccup climbing up the hill, followed as usual by his Night Fury.

Eret jumped on his feet and cleared his throat. "Oh, Um… Good evening, Chief", he mumbled in embarrassment. It was the first time he saw Hiccup alone since they met - well, alone except for the Night Fury, who was practically like a shadow to his master. The new Chief of Berk looked tired as Hel, and despite the dim moonlight, Eret could notice that his eyes were swollen and slightly red – a reminder of yesterday's events, Eret concluded, combined with his exhaustion.

Despite all that, Hiccup still managed to give him a warm smile. "Are you and Skullcrusher getting along?" he asked.

Eret smiled apologetically. "I was gonna bring him to the stables for the night, but no matter how hard I try, he just won't move. Keeps pullin' himself at that direction", he pointed down the hill, to the far side of the village. "To tell the truth, things went quite smoothly 'til now. I don't know what's gotten into him all of a sudden".

"Then why won't you just let him go wherever he wants?" Hiccup suggested. He approached Skullcrusher and started to stroke his horn. "Maybe he has a good reason to want to go that way".

Eret stared at him, puzzled. "But this can take all night! Who knows how far he wants to go".

Hiccup quirked an eyebrow at him. "It's also going to take all night to try and pull him up this hill, and even then you won't make it. Look, if he doesn't want to go to the stables, he won't go. And if you keep pushing him, he'll eventually lose his temper, and I would highly recommend you not to start a fight with a Rumblehorn - or any dragon, for that matter. I know this is all new to you, but the most important thing about bonding with a dragon is that nothing good can be achieved by using force. One time, I tried to make Toothless take a bath, and to cut a long story short, I couldn't sit for almost three days".

The Night Fury rolled his eyes and snorted, unimpressed.

Hiccup turned back to the Rumblehorn. "So, what'd you say, Skull? Wanna show us something?" Skullcrusher warbled happily and nuzzled Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup turned to Eret. "Shall we?"

Eret nodded nervously and joined them as they started to make their way down to the village. Toothless took his place by Hiccup's side, of course, but Hiccup stopped him with a gentle hand on his head. "No, bud. It's very late, and we have a long day tomorrow. Go back to the house. I'll come back soon, I promise".

The Night Fury didn't look too happy about his master's request, but he obeyed nonetheless. He closed his eyes, pressed his snout against Hiccup's palm for a moment, then turned aside and started running at the direction of the Chief's house.

The two young men and the Rumblehorn kept walking for a while. The village was empty and silent – all the Berkians have already returned to their houses, to get some rest after a long day of fixing broken roofs and clearing massive blocks of ice from the main roads. And it was only the beginning. The damage done by Drago's Bewilderbeast was so big – it will take at least a couple of weeks to clear all the ice and fix all the houses and structures damaged in the attack. Eret did his best to be useful while trying very hard to ignore the suspicious looks some of the villagers gave him. Not that he could blame them; after all, it was only two days ago that his loyalty was subjected to the person who nearly destroyed their village, and murdered their Chief. He was still a complete stranger to them.

Eret glanced at Hiccup. Though there was nothing threatening about the young Viking's thin, delicate figure, Eret still felt pretty nervous about being alone with him in the middle of the empty village. Two days ago they were sworn enemies, and now Hiccup was his Chief – his leader. He wasn't quite sure how to grasp this whole new situation, and it seemed like Hiccup wasn't totally sure himself. Eret has noticed the confused expression on his face every time somebody called him "Chief", as if he didn't fully believe that this title referred to him.

Eret was eager to break the silence. "I gotta admit", he said hesitantly, "the way the Night Fury reacts to yeh is quite astounding. I've never thought a man could establish such a bond with a dragon, especially a Night Fury".

"Neither did I", Hiccup answered. "But this bond you're talking about wasn't established in one day. It took both of us years to get to know each other and to understand each other's needs. The relationship between a dragon and its rider is built step by step, and sometimes you have to make compromises. You must fully trust your dragon if you want him to trust you".

"Even if it means to roam for hours through an empty village in the middle of the night?" Eret asked with a smirk.

"You got my point. But hey, I think we've already reached our destination".

Skullcrusher suddenly came to a halt in front of low, wide building which didn't look like any of the other houses in Berk. Eret couldn't make much of it in the darkness, but he realized it was mostly an open space, stored with all kinds of items in different shapes and sizes. It looked more like a workshop than an actual house.

"The forge? What'd you lose in there, buddy?" Hiccup turned to the dragon, but Skullcrusher roared restlessly and rushed into the workshop. A second later they heard a loud rattle of different metallic objects crushing onto the floor.

Eret shot Hiccup a questioning look, but Hiccup seemed just as confused. "Let's go after him before he wakes up the entire village", he said with a frown. He drew the sword attached to his right leg – Eret recognized it as the one which almost blew up his ship two days ago – and lit up its burning blade at once. The bright, orange flame wasn't big enough to light the entire place, but it was enough for them to see their way ahead. They went inside, trying not to stumble upon one of the many weapons and half-finished saddles that were scattered all over the floor. They noticed Skullcrusher standing a few steps from them, sniffing in excitement at an object they couldn't recognize from that distance.

Hiccup stepped forward. "What're you smelling there, Skullcrusher?" He lowered the sword to take a closer look. Eret walked behind him and bent down in order to see what has gotten Skullcrusher's attention. It was a massive, old-looking axe, and it made Eret feel even more confused.

"He dragged us all the way here for this old axe? Why would he do such a thing?" he raised his face to Hiccup, but froze when he saw the young Chief's face.

Hiccup stared at the axe with wide eyes. His mouth was tightly shut and his lower lip was trembling. Despite the dim light, Eret could see that he was as pale as a sheet.

"Chief?" Eret stood up quickly. "You alrigh'?" he asked in a worried tone.

Hiccup ignored him. He kept staring at the axe for about half a minute, clenching his sword tightly, and just when Eret started to consider calling somebody, he suddenly noticed the twitch around Hiccup's mouth, and the Viking's expression became softer.

"It's my dad's old axe", he said quietly, still not looking at Eret.

"Your dad's – " and that was when Eret understood. "Oh".

"He left it here a couple of days ago – wanted us to sharpen it…" Hiccup continued in a distant voice, and Eret got the feeling that he wasn't necessarily talking to him. "I had no idea it was still here. I mean, it's not like he can't sharpen it himself, he just never has the time… Gobber always tells him he should just get a new axe instead of having to re-sharpen the old one almost every week, but my dad really likes his axe… also, he never listens to anyone – I mean, never listened to –" suddenly his voice became very sore and very low. He inhaled sharply, turned away from Eret and turned off his flaming sword, leaving them in complete darkness again.

Eret stood there and watched his Chief's back, speechless. He had no idea what to do. What could he possibly say? Sorry for your loss? It's going to be okay? All those sentences sounded so empty and useless in his mind. He had known Hiccup for only two days and rode his deceased father's dragon for barely half a day. He wasn't the right person to comfort him, and yet, he was the only one there.

Suddenly, his thread of thought was interrupted by a deep, long howl. He jumped in his place, realizing a moment later that this peculiar sound came from Skullcrusher. He completely forgot the dragon was there.

Skullcrusher howled again, and the sound sent a sharp shiver down Eret's spine. He had tormented many dragons in his life, and they were always howling and moaning, but none of them had ever made that kind of sound. That sound had just so much… so much pain in it. It was the saddest, most agonizing thing Eret had ever heard. It made his chest hurt. It made his heart hurt.

It was as if the dragon was crying.

Eret didn't know dragons could cry. Actually, as it occurred to him, there were many things about dragons that he didn't know.

He noticed Hiccup's shadowed figure kneeling in front of the dragon. "That's why you wanted to come here so badly", he heard him saying softly. "You followed his scent, didn't you?"

Skullcrusher howled again, but much more quietly.

"I know", Hiccup whispered. "I miss him too. I'm sorry we didn't give you the chance to mourn him properly, Skullcrusher". And even in the darkness Eret could see Hiccup wrapping his arms around the Rumblehorn's thick neck and leaning his head against his jaw. Skullcrusher replied with a gentle trill.

That moment, Eret felt very, very small.

He didn't know how long they stayed like this, but eventually he could sense Hiccup standing straight again, wiping his face silently. Eret opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, he felt something nudging his stomach urgently. It was Skullcrusher.

Hiccup laughed, though his laugh was a bit shaky. "I think he's finally ready to go to the stables". Eret heard a click, and the flaming sword lit up again. When Hiccup's face became visible to him, he saw that it was clean of tears, and smiling.

Eret smiled back and petted the dragon's head. "And even if he isn't, it's fine by me. He can go wherever he likes, as long as he's happy. Yeh hear that, yeh stubborn baby?"

In response, Skullcrusher gave him such an enthusiastic lick that he yelped and almost lost his balance.

Hiccup laughed again. "Congratulations. The two of you have made the first step in forming a dragon-rider bond". He paused for a second, and his tone became serious. "You know, Eret, Skullcrusher is one of the kindest, most loyal dragons I've ever met. Take good care of him. He deserves it".

"Of course he does", Eret said and kept petting the Rumblehorn. He looked straight at Hiccup and nodded. "Don't worry, Chief. I'll look after him the best I can".

Hiccup smiled in approval, then pulled a nearby stool and sat on it. "Well, you should probably go to bed now. You've worked hard enough. I hope you're okay with sleeping in the stables for the time being… sorry about that, it's just that we have so much reconstruction work to do…"

"Oh, no, it's more than okay!" Eret said quickly. "The stables are great, and it's not like I'm used to luxury after all these years in Drago's service. But, Chief", he hesitated, "Don't yeh need to go to bed as well? I honestly think that yeh, of all people, needs yer rest the most".

Hiccup signed. "You're probably right", he murmured. "However…" he glanced at his father's axe, then took it in his free hand and examined it for a long moment. "I think I'm going to stay and sharpen this thing. I mean, I'm already here, and I probably won't have time tomorrow. Or, anytime in the near future. It's a good axe, despite its age, and it's a shame to leave it unsharpened".

Eret raised an eyebrow. "Yeh sure 'bout that? It's very late… wouldn't it be better to leave it to Gobber?"

Hiccup didn't raise his eyes from the axe. "Maybe. But I'd rather do it myself".

Eret understood. He stepped closer to Hiccup and stretched out his arm in order to shake his hand, but Hiccup didn't notice him at all. He kept looking down at the axe and gently moved his thumb across the worn out handle.

Eret dropped his arm and bit the inside of his cheek. "Alrigh' then…" he said clumsily. "I'll be on my way. Although I do hope yeh get some sleep tonight. I don't know Astrid too well, but it seems to me she won't be too pleased with a tired Chief".

The last sentence seemed to shake Hiccup from his deep thoughts and he chuckled. "Yeah, she's definitely going to yell at me tomorrow. However, I hope I'll be able to quiet her down for a while with this gift." he gestured at the axe. "If there's one thing my dad and my girlfriend had in common, it would be their pure love for sharp weapons". He smiled to himself at the thought.

"I'm sure she'll be happy to have this", Eret said. He turned to exit the forge with Skullcrusher by his side. "Good night, Chief".

"Good night, Eret".

As Eret and Skullcrusher reached the top of the hill, Eret turned backwards to have a last look at the forge. Despite the heavy darkness, he could still spot the little ball of fire burning in the distance, and he had the feeling that it was about to keep burning until dawn.

Poor Skullcrusher... but I'm sure Eret will take a good care of him:)

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