Past the halfway mark now. Glad you're all enjoying it.

And since I think I forgot to post this, How to Train Your Dragon does not belong to me.

R&R


AFTERNOON

Despite a soft bed and the familiar sounds of the Haddock home, it hadn't been a good night. Stoick had continually woken up when he'd rolled on his back, much to the distress of his new spikes and fallen to the floor, resulting in him having to climb back up and repeat the cycle. When dawn came and he fell for the sixteenth time, it resulted in a small hissing fit and a minor attack on the bedpost. His frustrated squawking had woken up Hiccup and Toothless, who saw fit to walk towards him and bat him into the wall when Hiccup wasn't looking.

To be honest, all he wanted was something to eat and then to yell at the dragons until they undid this spell. But Hiccup wouldn't even give him the mercy of an easy meal. Toothless got several cod in his bucket without asking. Stoick, on the other hand, found his fish baited under his nose, before Hiccup yanked it up and placed it on the top of a table. It had been clear his son wanted him to fly up, but despite his best attempts, Stoick couldn't get his wings to do more than half heartedly flap against his back. He'd resorted to clawing up the table leg for breakfast, grimacing at the marks he'd left. Valhallarama had liked this table.

Hiccup had sighed at that, before eating his own breakfast and picking Stoick up. The Terror was tempted to fight out of the grip, getting tired of being manhandled. But with a full belly and an exhausted mind, he relaxed in Hiccup's arms and nodded off.


"So he can't fly?"

"Not as far as I can tell. Tried again this morning – put some fish on the table. Just climbed the table leg."

Astrid knelt down and stared at the still dozing Terror in Hiccup's arms.

"I'm getting worried about him," Hiccup continued. "He flaps his wings a lot but he never seems to get off the ground. Like he doesn't even realise he's doing it."

"You think it's because of water?" Astrid asked, and Hiccup shrugged.

"Maybe, I don't know. Dragons don't seem to mind water – Toothless fishes all time, but they don't fly in it. Maybe… maybe it does something to them if they're in it too long?"

"Sounds like you're fishing," Astrid warned, and Hiccup sighed.

"We still don't know enough about them for me to know for sure," he admitted, as the two neared the Training Grounds. "But if it's not physical, maybe they can help him out here."

"Viking see, Viking do?" Astrid summarised with a grin. "Eh, worked for Snotlout."

"Hey now, he's getting better."

"Uh, point?"

"Right. Shutting up now."

In his arms, Stoick snorted. "That'll be the day."

The sounds of dragons began to echo around them, but Stoick remained in his rather comfortable position, even when the sunlight vanished under the archway. It was only when he felt an erratic breeze started to hit his face that he cracked open an eye. The Training Grounds was full of perching dragons, often just stopping to rest before flying off again. By the old cages, he could see the teens milling about, most of them on their dragons. The twins were arguing again, with their dragon's heads angling to separate them. But in front of him, there was a flock of Terrors flying around his son like crazed Valkyries, chirping and squeaking, stupidly excited about the sight of a new "friend" in Hiccup's arms.

"Okay, Freakout" Hiccup said. "Time for you to get acquainted with some new friends. This is Spike, Spike Two, Fluffy and Dave… and they're the reason Fishlegs is forbidden from ever naming another dragon again."

"Won't answer to anything else now," Astrid sighed. "And down, Spike!"

"Um, actually," Fishlegs called from largest gate in the grounds, "that one's Spike Two. He's very partial to the two."

Astrid rolled her eyes, and Stoick watched as Snotlout dismounted his Nightmare and yanked Fishlegs into the cage.

The Terrors had landed now, scampering around Hiccup's feet, and Hiccup knelt to drop Stoick down amongst them.

"Okay, Freakout. Maybe your problem is a lack of flock. Now these guys are the friendliest Terrors you ever did meet. So, bond, make friends…"

He flapped his arms slightly.

"Fly, soar… be dragon-y…"

Astrid crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Dragon-y?"

Hiccup laughed nervously. "Yeah… I didn't plan that one out too well."

Stoick rolled his eyes and faced his new "friends." They appeared as bemused as he was, darting up and sniffing before darting away again.

"Redhead has Redscales now," said the blue one.

"Told you, told you, told you!" chimed one green. The other green one darted forward and nipped at Stoick's tail, inciting a sharp squeak in return.

"Redhead Stoick be it," the Terror decided. "Chase the Viking! Chase the Viking!"

The four of them then jumped their new arrival, who bolted, ignoring Hiccups cries and heading for the cages to the side. The teens were all there – they'd keep him safe.

Unfortunately, the Terrors, for all their lack of brains, did appear to have some idea of strategy. Two were flanking him on the ground, while two were in the air, cutting him off and landing in front of him. One leapt on his back and nipped his neck slightly before being thrown off, Stoick throwing himself in a barrel roll. He was so focused on getting out of the area, he didn't even acknowledge the bite hadn't hurt.

He bolted into the cage that had once held Astrid's Nadder, now holding a snoozing Zippleback and filled with extra saddles and harnesses. The perfect climbing frame.

Stoick leapt up the leathers and scrambled along a makeshift shelf. Unfortunately, the red Terror flew in front of him, the force sending them both flying backwards slightly. Two of the others immediately joined in, turning the group into a small ball of spikes and claws.

Stoick roared, but was unable to fight them off, and braced himself as jaws descended… and burst into laughter.

"S… s… sto… stop that!" he croaked, discovering a little too late that the Terrors' idea of hunting was a little less painful and a lot more humiliating than he'd expected. Little claws and tiny nips in all the right places turned him into a squirming, chirping mass.

"Initiation! Initiation!" the Terrors sang, only to leap as the last member of their party finally caught up, sending the entire flock flying off the shelf and onto the Zippleback's neck. Their little claws were just as ticklish here, and both heads were up immediately, shooting out with sparking mouths and noxious gas.

In the courtyard, the teens, far too acclimatised to the antics of Terrors to be surprised, quickly found cover in the sky as the Zippleback bolted and threw himself into a roll, rubbing his back against the stone floor and sending his passengers skidding across the grounds in all directions. Stoick stood dazed, and soon found the flock grouping back towards him, chirping excitedly all the while.

"Again! Again!"

Vikings did not whimper, but Stoick was fairly certain that was what the sound he made could have been mistaken for. His head jerked around, looking for Hiccup and possibly safe haven, and he bolted when he saw the boy directing Fishlegs' and Stoick's dragons out of the Nightmare's old cage, both carrying large nets of fish. The flock immediately followed, but seemed more interested in the fish than Stoick now.

Hiccup, however, seemed used to this, and stuck out his peg leg when Stoick got too close, keeping him back. "Ah ah, not for you."

Now that he was here, he had to admit the smell was overpowering, but began to wonder exactly what the net had been doing in the Training Grounds. The dragons were notorious foragers when they wanted, and the Vikings of Berk had never kept food in the Training Grounds if they could help it. It was too hard to keep the dragons away.

Too hard apparently, for everyone but Hiccup.

The Terrors all parted when Toothless came out of the cage as well, dragging another net, followed by the twins who were tying ropes to Astrid's Nadder. Fishlegs and Snotlout immediately dismounted and had their dragons drag over the nets.

"Think that's enough, Hiccup?" Ruffnut yelled over, as Toothless dropped his own net next to Hiccup. "All that rain meant we couldn't go out last night."

Hiccup patted Toothless' nose and began harnessing the other net to the Night Fury. "It'll be fine. We managed to get them a pretty good meal last week. Even with the new arrivals, this should be okay so long as we get a good haul over the next few days."

Toothless was crooning at Hiccup with amusement. "You worry too much, Hiccup. We lasted far longer on far less."

Fishlegs had his Gronkle carefully set the net on the Nadder's back, and harnessed it with the ropes before Astrid mounted. When the dragon got to its feet, it picked up the other bag in its beak and walked off, now moving rather sluggishly with the added weight. Toothless' own net was clearly meant to be dragged underneath the dragon due to its size, so had stronger and longer ropes keeping it clear of his tail and legs.

Hiccup mounted, checking over the saddle before nodding in satisfaction.

"Okay, we're set. See you guys in a few hours."

Astrid waved goodbye, and her Nadder took a running jump, wings fighting hard to get into the air, and quickly gained altitude. Toothless made to follow, only to be stopped by Hiccup's hand on his neck.

"Wait a sec, Toothless," he asked, and looked over at Stoick, who was still watching the events in confusion.

"Freakout; here, boy."

He patted Toothless's neck in temptation, and Stoick rolled his eyes. He had no desire to go flying on the black beast.

And yet…

His eyes quickly glanced at the Terrors inching towards him.

…Right now it seemed like the lesser evil.

"Gods, please don't let me regret this…"

And with that, Stoick gave a defeated chirp and scurried over to Hiccup's waiting arms. Settling in between the leather harness and the saddle, Stoick closed his eyes and dug his claws in as Toothless took to the sky.


At first, Stoick had clamped down on the saddle with everything he had, even biting the saddle for grip when Toothless took off. He ignored Hiccup's whoops of joy and kept his eyes shut, until the dragon stopped climbing and settled into a steady path. Not too far away, Astrid was shouting encouragement on her Nadder, moving far more sluggishly considering the net of fish that was being hauled.

He had no intention of moving until Hiccup got the creature back on the ground, but found that plan fell to ruins when Hiccup's thin hands wrapped around his body, fingers scratching under his chin and forcing him to let go. A frustrated cackle left his throat, and Hiccup brought him close.

"Come on, Freakout. How can you be a dragon and not like flying? Toothless won't let you fall."

Stoick just kept himself still, hoping his son would give up and let him go. He got half of his wish as Hiccup sighed.

"Okay, but just remember, I tried to do this the easy way."

Toothless was growling, wicked glee in every note. "Drophimdrophimdrophimdrophim!"

Stoick's eyes snapped open. What?

And Hiccup did just that.


"Hiccup!"

He was going to have his son's other leg for this!

The screaming was involuntary, but he didn't bother to stop, too focused on flailing legs and wings flapping uselessly against the wings. Like swimming in a suit of armour. Every now and then one would catch a wind current, sending him into a spiral. In the sky not too far off, he could see Toothless chasing him, tongue out and gliding with no apparent effort, despite his own haul.

He'd never hated a dragon more in his life.

"Come on!" he screamed. "Work already!"

"Stop struggling," Toothless called through the air.

"Spread your wings and feel the wind!" the Nadder shouted, growls muffled by her haul. "They're not arms! They're sails!"

Sails… sails… he knew sails. He could work with sails…

He fought the wind, forced the leathery flaps to widen, and jerked as his body suddenly blew upwards. His legs instinctively curled under his body as he rose in the air, and he tried to catch his breath as he suddenly found himself all but floating hundreds of feet in the sky.

"And he's got it!" Hiccup whooped.

"Atta boy, Freakout!" Astrid encouraged, followed by a roar of approval from her Nadder.

"Slow learner, but you finally got it," Toothless joked. "Now get back here."

Stoick sniffed and flapped his wings when he felt the wind rise. His body flew up past Toothless and Hiccup, and up to Astrid. She smiled and patted the crook of the Nadder's neck, offering the Terror a place on his neck. Stoick was tempted, but noticing Toothless coming closer, and found himself flapping over. Hiccup stuck one hand out almost instinctively, and Stoick made to land… only to crash into it and find his claws digging into the cloth. Before the wind could blow him back, Hiccup had brought him back to his chest.

"Good boy, Freakout," Hiccup cooed, stroking his back. "You did really, really well."

He tried to keep Stoick close, but after that initial burst of flight, Stoick just felt agitated to be held up in air. He pulled free, and tentatively crawled to Toothless's head. A slight pause before heading between the horns, and sticking his tongue out in the air.

"I forget. Did we turn you into a dragon, or a dog?" Toothless mocked.

"Oh, shut up and fly."


The two dragons navigated the cliffs and rocks of the Dragon's Nest with less grace than normal, mainly due to their cargo. Stoick still had no idea what they were doing, but when he heard the echoing calls of dragons, he started to have an inkling.

He jerked back when a Nightmare flew out of the fog, inches from Toothless, closely followed by another. On his other side, a Zippleback eyed Astrid's haul, held off by a snarl from the Nadder.

The two landed on the beach, dropping the fishnets and landing on the shore. The dragons that had been trailing him quickly landed, but stopped at the fish.

"Why so much fish for a couple of dragons?" Stoick muttered. "How gluttonous can they be?"

Toothless ambled over, and nodded towards the gaping hole in the mountain. "It's not just a 'few' dragons Stoick."

Curious, Stoick crawled over to look inside, and his jaw dropped.

Dragons. Dozens of them… maybe a hundred. He barely had time to process the thought before the scent of fish blew inside, and he was thrust back from the sheer force of the collective flock flying out towards "lunch."

Toothless was hissing at the collective, his unofficial status of "leader" still working here. The flock hesitated before coming close, and separated as Hiccup walked through them, sticking to Toothless' side as the Night Fury growled the first of the dragons forward. Stoick stood frozen, staring at the spectacle, before he felt the beak of Astrid's Nadder pluck him up by the neck, just in time to avoid being trampled by a small swarm of Terrible Terrors. The Nadder swung him gently, giving him ample time to get hold of the dragon's neck and settle before walking round the feeding sight.

"The young one comes once a week to feed our brethren," the Nadder explained. "But this can't work forever."

Stoick was still staring in shock, as yet more dragons started to crawl out of the cave. And was that a Whispering Death…?

"Since when are there Whisperer's this far North?" he squeaked. Amidst the dragons, he spotted Hiccup tense slightly as the creatures made mostly of teeth drew near, only to force himself to relax, and give the first newcomer a small pat on the cheek before letting it grab from the pile.

"Three arrived last month," the Nadder explained. "They flew even through the snowstorms just to see if the rumours were true."

"Rumours?" Stoick repeated.

"That there was a place where a dragon could live in peace without fear," the Nadder answered. "They lost over two-thirds of their flock this summer when Vikings ambushed their nesting site. It is just a pity we can't be more accommodating."

Stoick just shook his head. "But… there's nowhere near this many dragons on Berk."

"You were here when Hiccup killed the Green Death," the Nadder snapped. "You saw our numbers. We may be able to co-exist peacefully, but do you really think Berk could support our entire flock? We outnumber you ten-to-one at best. Right now, those of us who do not have 'riders' swap over with those who stay here, so we all get a shot at finding a human partner to bond with."

The Nadder jerked her head at the Boneknappers. "But it's going to get worse. Our calls of celebration, the loss of the Green Death in our minds… as the weather gets better, more and more dragons will migrate here, and soon we will have the problem of the Green Death all over again, only this time due to sheer numbers."

"Why didn't Hiccup tell me about this?" Stoick whispered, watching the two young Vikings leave the fish pile to tend to the smaller dragons, chicken legs and things too small to tell coming from saddle packs.

"He was afraid?" the Nadder guessed. "So as scared of dragons as you are, you might try to cull those of us not on the island. That's why he put so much hope into that trip to the tribe."

Stoick frowned and cocked his head. "How so?"

"Think about it, oh great leader," the Nadder joked. "The more tribes that find peace with dragons, the more places we can go. We can spread out across the oceans, and live in peace with all humans. Because this little corner cannot hold us all."

The Terror swallowed, and gazed at the nest in a new light, for the first time realising just how little there was here, how the dragons had to be staying away from Berk to avoid breaking their new truce, instead relying on a boy and girl to bring them a ration each week, all the while hoping that they could one day leave and have what this Nadder and Toothless and maybe even Hookfang had.

"Why is it every time I think I understand something, Hiccup or you beasts always managed to rip it to pieces?" he muttered, mostly to himself, but receiving a cackle in return.

"Arrogance, human. Arrogance and naivety."


Stoick sat sprawled on the carved dragon head on the roof of the Haddock home as the sun began to set. After feeding the hoards at the Nest, Hiccup had come back to the Training Grounds for a full afternoon of flying lessons for the villagers. Stoick had stayed for an hour before flying off – he hadn't meant to stay that long, but there was something infectious about Hiccup's teaching style.

It was rather embarrassing that it took being a complete stranger to actually realise how… good-different his son was now that he had dragons. Stoick loved his son, possibly more than anything else in the world, but his reactions and personality had always been a brick wall. Hiccup had spent his childhood and teen years trying to find a compromise between his own eccentricities and what was expected of him, and hadn't managed to do anything other than fail spectacularly.

Was it wrong that he was only just now realising that had smiled more in the past six months than Stoick could remember over the last ten years?

His son was eccentric – they both knew that. But that insanity had paid off, brought a new, safer era for the Vikings of Berk…

…So why was he so afraid of sharing it?

"Is this seat taken?"

Stoick looked down to see Hookfang staring up at him, the large Nightmare resting by the house, but keeping his bulk away from the walls. Stoick shook his head and looked back out at the ocean.

"You are troubled."

Stoick sighed. "Life was so much simpler when you were mindless beasts we had to slaughter."

Hookfang snorted. "I would have to agree."

The Terror looked at him in confusion and the Nightmare gave a toothy smirk. "What? We now have to live in harmony with a potential food source that has spent most of a century trying to wipe us out while not upsetting them enough to have them chase us off. You think this has been easy for us?"

Stoick chuckled. "Well, when you put it like that…"

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the colours bleed out from "Freakout's" third night.

"Have you decided what you are going to do?"

Stoick didn't answer at first, instead lifting himself up into a more stable sitting position, spikes rippling across his back.

"There is no question about my choice," he began. "I am Stoick the Vast and that is who I will die as, be it drowning in a storm or many years from now."

Hookfang nodded. "Not unexpected. When you see the boat, fly towards it. I will take care of the rest."

The tone of the Nightmare's voice suggested Stoick would be happier if he didn't ask how.

"As for what I'll do when I get back…" Stoick trailed off, before tensing and standing proudly. "I can't force the other tribes to accept what we have when we are still learning ourselves. I… understand how much you need the other tribes now, but they won't. This will take time."

Hookfang studied the dragon for a few moments before nodding.

"But you will try?"

Stoick nodded. "For Berk, for Hiccup… and for the lot of you miserable interfering beasts."

The last part of his reply was said with a smirk, and the Nightmare chuckled, standing on his hind legs and staring at the Terror eye to eye, nostrils flaring slightly.

"Then this was worth it," Hookfang answered. "Whether you admit it or not."

"Ask me when I have hands again," Stoick finished, before jerking up at the familiar sounds coming from the sky. His son and dragon were flying again. He could just make out the black shape in the late sky, almost close enough to touch.

"Go," Hookfang whispered, almost too quiet to here. "Your young one will lose you tomorrow, and you will never get this again. He may love you as a father, but for now, you can learn how to be his friend."

Stoick was still frozen, staring up.

"I thought being a father was enough."

"It's not always a case of 'either or.'"

Stoick spread his wings, and chased after the black shadow as the sun set.


To be continued...


I'm starting to realise just how quick this story actually goes when its not being read as one big lump. Ah well, least I know for future reference.