"Chief, are you going to ban dragons from Berk?"

"But I love Meatlug!"

"Lady Valka, you want us to blow Mildew's house to Valhalla?"

"Everybody calm down!" bellowed Stoick at the crowd of teenagers that invaded his house. "No decisions have been made yet."

"That is why you're here," Valka went on. "This is a crisis meeting. Make yourselves as comfortable as you can, and then we will talk."

And so five young Vikings and one middle-aged Viking entered the Haddock family house. It got rather dense, but somehow everybody found a comfortable spot. The chief and his wife moved to the back of the room, where Hiccup's bed and the table stood. Snotlout tried to sit in Stoick's special chair, but an angry stare from the man was enough to make him retreat. The honorable spot was then offered to Gobber, who hesitated, but Stoick insisted – he and Valka were going to stand, to better address the crowd. The teenagers sat themselves on the edging of the floor – the twins by the staircase and the rest on the opposite side. Toothless chose to sit behind them, keeping his head close to Astrid, who pat him reassuringly. Stoick scanned them all and drew himself up. The meeting could commence.

"Alright, everybody. I think we all realize that the situation is serious. Dragons are running wild and people are running out of patience. We have to do something about it real fast, or else we'll be have to find a new home for our fire-breathing friends."

"Oh no!" gasped Fishlegs.

"Nobody's tellin' my dragon where to go!" insisted Snotlout.

"I say we blow Mildew's house to Valhalla!" urged Tuffnut.

"With Mildew inside it!" added Ruffnut cheerfully.

"Oh no, nothing this sort!" Valka scolded them. "Mildew is a very unhappy, bitter old man, and a senior villager of Berk. We do NOT want to have him as our enemy."

"But he IS our enemy," protested Ruffnut.

"Yeah! He started it!" added Tuffnut.

"Let me remind ya," Gobber spoke up, "You all were excited about gutting dragons not a month ago."

"But we changed, okay!?" protested Tuffnut.

"Yeah, now we know it's much more fun gutting WITH dragons!" said Ruffnut excitedly.

"Right! And blowing up with dragons!" her brother agreed eagerly.

"And then there's flying!" she pointed out.

"Yeah!" he agreed enthusiastically. "All this spinning and turning, ears exploding and stomachs twisting…!"

"Man, it feels like dancing with death itself!"

"Yeah! It's awesome!"

"Guys!" yelled Astrid. The twins stopped their exchange and looked at her. Seeing she had their attention, she sent a communicative glance at Hiccup's parents. They needed no further encouragement to take back control.

"Listen," started Valka. "It's great that you love dragons so much…"

"Sure we do!" said the twins in union.

"…but you need to understand that most people don't feel the way you do. And these people are the people of Berk. They must be taken into consideration," she insisted. And, since the twins did not seem to grasp the concept, added: "Unless you wish to be exiled from this island along with your dragons. Because that is what's going to happen if we don't solve this problem in a way that makes people happy. So do me a favor and be serious."

She couldn't believe she was actually defending humans. The world was coming to an end.

Luckily, that speech seemed to have put the twins in line.

"You're right. She's sorry," Tuffnut pointed his sister, who glared at him in indignation.

Valka sighed and shook her head. "Look, I know this is hard. Century-long wounds do not heal overnight. The thing is: dragons are dragons and Vikings are Vikings. There are tons of things they don't understand about each other, and that won't change just like this. Somebody has to show them the way to do it."

"But how do we do it?" asked Fishlegs worriedly.

"Tell us and we'll be right at it!" said Astrid enthusiastically.

Valka was pleased. "Thank you. This is the attitude I wanted to see."

"You can start by preventing dragons from causing more damage," offered Stoick. "And fix the damage already done, if possible. People must know that Dragon Riders feel responsible for their pets."

"So what do you want us to do?" asked Snotlout sarcastically. "Fix broken carts and wash dirty laundry?"

"Oh, that wouldn't hurt," chirped Gobber. "You boys take my tools and I supervise."

Snotlout rolled his eyes at him.

"That can be arranged later," decided Stoick. "What we need right now is food. Dragons eat everything in sight and soon there'll be nothing left for us."

Everybody nodded in agreement.

"We could teach dragons what they may and may not eat," suggested Fishlegs.

"You go ahead and I watch," said Snotlout, amused.

Meanwhile Stoick turned to his wife. "Would that be possible before Winter?" he asked, clearly expecting a negative answer.

"Some of them, maybe, but not all of them," said Valka sadly.

"No to mention, they've already eaten so much," added Gobber. "Even if they stopped now, we'd hardly have enough to last through Winter. Unless, of course, we take half the tribe to the river, feed them rum with herbs, and pour water over them until they freeze. Then we push them all into a gigantic hole and cover with snow. Good old Viking trick to save on resources. My grandpa did that with the whole family and nobody ever got hurt."

The young Vikings did not look particularly thrilled with the idea.

Stoick sighed heavily. "Blasted dragons. Why won't they go and hunt their own food?"

"Well, they are in a way," Fishlegs said shyly. "I mean, they always stole food from Berk."

Stoick glared at him angrily. The boy cowered.

Meanwhile Valka experienced a flash of enlightenment.

"Of course!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. Everybody looked at her and she radiated with joy. "Dragons can hunt. And catch fish. With a little bit of guidance they can assist the Vikings. Even if we only train a couple of dragons, they will fill our storage houses in no time."

As she explained it, she couldn't stop smiling. It seemed so obvious now. Rather than fight the current, they had to redirect it. Take advantage of the dragons' natural talents. Nobody will get hurt and everybody will be satisfied. They couldn't go wrong that way.

Her husband's concerned voice brought her back to Earth. "Really? Before the ice sets in?" he asked, a tad skeptical. The suddenly obvious solution to their problem – or part of it – seemed way too easy to be possible.

"Most certainly," assured Valka. "Even when the ice does set in, they will be able to melt it. They will be able to take us on hunting trips far away from Berk."

"This is starting to sound good," admitted the chief. He was still reluctant to allow himself the luxury of optimism, but the teens had no such reservations. Especially not the twins.

"Gosh, I can't wait to see Mildew's face when we save the whole village from starvation!" exclaimed Ruffnut.

"Yeah! Let's get to it!" agreed Tuffnut.

"Not so fast," said Stoick firmly. "We're not finished here."

"No?" the twins asked in surprise.

"Most certainly not," insisted the chief. "If dragons can provide us with food, that's great. But our problems don't end here. Dragons break into people's houses, steal their belongings, and make mess out of everything. Now, don't get me wrong," he added, sensing that he was spoiling the atmosphere, "I understand that dragons are dragons and they won't obey us just like this. But we should at very least be able to grant our people safety and privacy in their own houses. I hope you'll all agree."

Everybody shared communicative glances. Stoick did make a good point. Which meant they still had some thinking to do. And thinking isn't a Viking thing.

"I don't think they'd take the hint if we start hanging helmets on the door, neh?" offered Gobber jokingly.

"No," said Valka sadly.

"Well, there must be a hint they would take," said Stoick. "Can you think of anything?" he asked his wife.

She could, of course. She knew how to scare dragons off. And she could already imagine half of the village using this knowledge to drive dragons away for good. Or worse, drive them insane.

She scanned the room. Nobody seemed to share her concerns. They were all looking at her with utmost attention. Awaiting instructions for keeping dragons out of people's lives.

Valka sighed. She thought she understood the stakes, but she still felt like she was about to betray the dragons. Exposing their weaknesses to the tribe would be like pouring Astrid's soup down Hiccup's throat.

Valka turned to look at her comatose son. Poor little Hiccup. He was so enthusiastic about dragons. So curious. So eager to discover all of their secrets. He learned so much just observing Toothless. The bond they formed helped her regain faith in humanity.

Valka's eyes find the Night Fury. And land on the artificial tail fin.

Hiccup's doing.

Her wonderful son had crippled a dragon for life. Her clever little explorer had built a machine to kill dragons. He had been genuinely proud of himself for having shot down a dragon. He did have a sincere intention of cutting its heart out and bringing it to his father.

He told her all this. And felt awful about it. And she told him it wasn't his fault. He did what he had been taught to do. He couldn't have known it wasn't the right thing to do.

No. He could have known. If only she had been there for him. If she hadn't abandoned her family and tribe, Berk could have long since become a dragon utopia. If anybody was to blame for everything that happened up to this point, it was her.

It was herself she had to work on before she could fix anybody else.

First of all, she had to stop thinking herself the sole savior of the dragon race. She was not that special.

Next, she had to stop treating other Vikings like unworkable, retarded, malicious killers. This way of thinking was the source of all her problems.

This was not just her crazy quest against humanity. It was the Dragon Riders' mission for the entire world. And it was up to her to prepare them for it.

Valka clenched her fists as she looked up to face her students. What she was about to engage them in will not be pleasant. Certainly not for the dragons. But sometimes one had to expose his children to unpleasantness to save them from major harm. She understood it now.

"I am going to provide some training," she declared solemnly. "And I am going to need your help."

The teens looked at each other, alarmed. "You want us to train all these dragons?" asked Snotlout.

"No," said Valka firmly. "It is people who need training. And I am going to provide it myself. You will help me with the preparations," Not waiting for the message to sink in, the woman moved towards the front of the room. "I am going to need some materials. Ladies, how is your sewing?" she asked, her eyes catching Astrid and resting on Ruffnut.

"Great!" exclaimed the twins eagerly. Then Tuffnut's expression dropped. "Wait, why did you say 'ladies?'" he asked with grudge.

Valka stared at him in disbelief. "So you can sew, Tuffnut?"

"Sure!" he exclaimed. "Better than Ruffnut!"

"Ey!" exclaimed his sister in indignation. "It was me who taught you everything, you ingrate!"

He grinned at her. "When did that happen, sis? I taught myself watching you and mom!"

"Alright, that's enough," said Valka hurriedly, seeing that Ruffnut was about to punch her twin. "I believe you are both great in what you do. You are going to help me make some small sacks. Are you up to it?"

"Sure!" exclaimed the twins joyfully.

"Good," nodded Valka, happy to have their attention and enthusiasm. "Then go get some sewing equipment. We are going to need thread, needles, scissors, and cloth. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Old sacks will do."

"No problem, Ma'am!" assured Tuffnut. This was one problem off the list.

"Good. Astrid, Snotlout, you two will go pick some garlic grass. A regular floor sack per head should do for the start. Make sure to tie them tightly."

"Will do, Ma'am!" said Snotlout, giving a salute.

"You can count on us," assured Astrid.

Finally, the chief's wife turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, you are going to get me a barrel of smoked eel. The barrel must be tightly closed, so that no dragon can sense it. If anybody gets in your way, tell them it's orders from the chief."

"Yes Ma'am!" said the boy.

Valka smiled to herself. The orders were distributed and the team ready to work. And when she turned to Stoick, she saw that he was beaming. He was so proud of her, of the way she took charge. And she felt like this just might work after all.

(...)

"Umh, Lady Valka?"

Fishlegs' voice distracted the chief's wife from the bag she was sewing.

All the supplies she had asked for have since been delivered, and Astrid and the twins were helping her prepare the schooling materials – numerous small bags, which they filled with garlic grass. Fishlegs and Snotlout, who could not sew, sat by and watched. Which, at least for the former, provided some time to once again think the plan over. And now concerns and doubts were forming on his face.

"Yes, Fishlegs?" Valka asked the boy. He shifted nervously on his spot.

"What if it doesn't work?" he asked worriedly. "What if we can't convince people to let the dragons stay?"

All the teens stopped working and looked at Valka. As dedicated as they were to their mission, failure was an option they had to consider. It became more and more apparent the less time they had. The Dragon Lady has already considered the issue and had an answer ready.

"Then we will keep dragons away from the village," she said, her attention coming back to the needle she held. "Find a secluded spot and make our headquarters there. Bring in those who are willing to learn. I will train you, no matter what. This much I can promise you."

The promise was not very optimistic, and did not solve all of the doubts Fishlegs had. "What if dragons don't want to leave?" he asked on. "If they don't listen to anybody now, will they obey you?"

"Not necessarily," admitted Valka. "But they will obey their own superiors. Since they lost their Alpha they have been fighting amongst themselves to establish a new order. We may use this to our advantage."

"You mean fight them?" asked Snotlout.

"Blow them to Valhalla?" suggested Tuffnut.

"No, nothing like this," said Valka firmly. "In most cases, dominance can be established by roaring and making impressive poses. By showing off."

"That's what we said," Tuffnut fired up, "show them how well we blow things up!"

"What's more impressive than a beautiful explosion?" asked Ruffnut.

Valka smirked at this. "Cloudjumper," she said confidently. "You too, Toothless," she added, as the black dragon poked her.

"And Hookfang!" exclaimed Snotlout.

"And Stormfly!" axclaimed Astrid.

"And Barf!" exclaimed Ruffnut.

"And Belch!" exclaimed Tuffnut.

"Oh, and Meatlug too!" Fishlegs exclaimed eagerly. "As far as beauty comes, that is. She's a lover, not a fighter."

Valka gave them all a confident smile. "That's great. We've got the best dragon intervention team there can be. I'm sure we will bring peace to Berk. Together."

"Yeah!" they all exclaimed.

Valka nodded. "Good. Now let's get back to work."

(...)

The following day started for the whole population of Berk at the village plaza. Dressed in armor, armed in schooling materials, powered up by reassuring smiles and glances from her husband and students, Valka stood before the crowd and spoke with all the confidence she could muster.

"Let me assure you: we, the Dragon Riders of Berk, are prepared to solve the crisis our community is facing. My students are already working on it, and I will be joining them as soon as I'm finished here. We've got no time to lose, so I'll stick to the basic instructions."

She scanned the crowd. They appeared to be interested. So far so good.

"To begin with, we have to make something clear: there is no such thing as dragon taming. Dragons are proud creatures who have their dignity and cannot be bent to your will. They are like a river. You cannot stop a river from flowing. Waters won't part because you say so. What you can do is direct the flow and benefit from it. Same with dragons – once you get to know them, you will be able to use their natural talents for your benefit."

"Tell us how to stop them from eating our stocks!" somebody demanded.

"Yeah, get to the point!" somebody else added. A few more impatient murmurs followed.

"Alright, alright," said Valka. "Here's the instructions."

She gestured for Toothless to approach her and offered him a piece of bread, which he bit.

"If a dragon takes something he's not supposed to, scratch him under the chin," she said, rubbing the Night Fury's chin for demonstration. The piece of bread fell from Toothless' jaws right into her hand. "In most cases it causes the dragon to relax his muscles. Then you can take back what's yours."

Having summed that example up, Valka took a small bag from one of the barrels that she had prepared in advance.

"Always have a small bag of dragon nip at hand," she instructed the crowd. "Dragons love rolling in it, but the smell alone is enough to make them happy and relaxed. Throw dragon nip between two fighting dragons and they will most certainly forget what they were fighting about."

She gestured for Toothless and Cloudjumper to demonstrate. The two dragons stood in battle poses and growled at each other. She loosened the string that held the bag closed and threw it between them. Both immediately dropped the act and neared themselves to the bag, smelling the bits of grass that fell out of it. And it made them really happy.

Valka smiled contently and moved to another barrel.

"For some reason, eating eel makes most dragons sick," she said, opening the barrel and taking out a smoked eel. "Take smoked eel, eels scales or eel bones and put them in the places dragons are not supposed to access. An eel hammered to the door should work. Hopefully, with time, dragons will learn to associate particular places with the scent of eel, even after eel is removed."

Then, to demonstrate the point, she threw the ell to the exact same spot she had thrown the garlic grass bag earlier. Toothless and Cloudjumper jumped away in fright.

"Follow these instructions and your problems should disappear," declared Valka, summing her presentation up. She then scanned the crowd, checking the impressions she made. Most of the villagers looked intrigued. Some still had concerns.

"What about all this damage and destruction?" somebody asked.

"Yeah, there's still some serious mess to clean around here!" somebody else added.

"The warehouses are empty!" another person yelled. Many angry yells followed.

"I was JUST getting to that," said Valka firmly. "As far as food is concerned, my students will take care of that. You don't need to worry. As for the damages caused by dragons, Fishlegs Ingerman was put in charge of the Dragon Damage Register," she gestured at Fishlegs, who waved at the crowd. "He will keep record of all incidents involving dragons on the island. If you were hurt in any way by dragons, report to Fishlegs. He will let me know and I will offer you a compensation I deem the most appropriate. However," at this point she turned dead serious, "I will have you know that I will take no responsibility for damage resulting from intentional provocation on your behalf. And don't even think of fooling me. I will know of every instance of dragon abuse on this island. And I will respond accordingly. Is that clear?"

She scanned the crowd. Some people – mostly senior villagers – seemed mildly irritated, but the vast majority nodded in acknowledgement. They understood that the alliance has to work both ways.

Valka smiled to herself. It seemed she has made a good start.

(…)

The rest of the day was filled with hard work.

Valka and Cloudjumper took it upon themselves to break the fights between dragons. Cloudjumper, being magnificent as he was, made quite an impression on all the local breeds. They understood he meant business and did their best to stay out of his way. It was only a matter of time before he taught them that they must play nice in the proximity of humans and whatever conflicts they have are to be solved away from Berk.

Meanwhile the teenagers took care of filling the warehouses. Snotlout and Hookfang did an excellent job scaring fish right into the nets of Berkian fishermen. Meanwhile the twins used Barf and Belch to spook some boards from the forest, and Stoick and Toothless herded them right into an open barn.

Nadder tails turned out to be great for ploughing, so Astrid and Stormfly demonstrated it on some unploughed fields. A rain of dragon poop afterwards provided all the necessary fertilizing. Valka claimed next year's harvest would be unlike anything this village has seen before.

Fishlegas and Meatlug travelled all around Berk, gathering reports from people and assessing the scope of damages done by dragons. If anything could be fixed right away, he informed the other Riders and they provided support. Dragons lifted heavy equipment and helped people work on heights, which sped up all the repairs.

At the end of the day, the Riders were exhausted, but it paid off. The general atmosphere has already improved a great deal. The future seemed promising.

(…)

There was one more surprise awaiting Valka before the sun set. Something her husband wanted her to see. Stoick rode Toothless and she followed on Cloudjumper. To her utter surprise, the chief landed in front of the old dragon killing arena. And appeared suspiciously smug.

"Okay," said Valka, slightly worried. "What was it that you wanted to show me?"

Stoick grinned. "Well, since we are no longer going to kill dragons, this place needs a new purpose," he gestured the arena and looked back at his wife. "What do you say for Berk Dragon Academy?"

Valka frowned. "What?"

Stoick chuckled. "You need a place to train dragon riders, right? A place not far away from home, but far enough not to bother the villagers. Better here than on some remote island, wouldn't you say?"

For a moment Valka was unable to speak. A dragon training academy. On Berk. Something she did not consider possible. Offered to her just like this. This was too good to be true.

Stoick was waiting for a response. And looking so hopeful.

Overtaken by joy, she flung herself into his arms and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said, hugging him tightly.

Stoick was stunned for a brief moment. Then he grabbed her and pulled to himself, laughing in sheer joy. She melted into his arms and he kissed her. It felt so warm and so right, They stayed like this, embraced, enjoying the moment of utmost perfection.

The spouses considered each other with looks of pure affection. Then, suddenly, Valka darted towards the arena, happy as a child on Snoggletog morning. "Come!" she called to him, bursting with excitement as she entered the ring. Stoick followed her, captivated by the energy she radiated with. So touched by his gesture, so eager to explore her new schooling ground. Seeing how happy he's made her, Stoick was proud and thrilled.

Valka retrieved two spears from the weapon magazine. She threw one at her husband, and he caught it easily. The sudden action surprised him, but not as much as the sudden smug expression on his wife's face.

"So, young man," she begun, drawing herself up in a proud pose, "you think you can challenge the Dragon Lady? I'll have you know, I am not an easy opponent."

She grinned, winking at the chief. Stoick considered her in amazement. Then, with a wide grin spreading on his face, he shifted the spear in his hands.

"I am Stoick the Vast, oh Dragon Lady," he declared, beginning to circle the arena in a slow, careless manner. "Surely you MUST have heard of me."

"Stoick the Vast? Hah!" laughed Valka, starting to walk in the pattern he set. "Once I'm through with you, you will be known as Stoick the Fast. You know why? Because you won't even last two minutes."

He laughed. "Oh, I won't even need this much time to wear you out. Twice."

She grinned. "Bring it, polar bear."

"Rawr!"

(…)

'I didn't know humans practiced mating dances.'

'Interesting…'