"…So he just burnt the notebook and so that's that." Frostbite finished telling the story to the old man. The two were sitting around the never extinguished fire.
"Wow, that's some brother you have. You know what you should do … hide all your notebooks and prized possessions, so he wouldn't … destroy any more, and put hay in his bed. Nothing is worse for a teenager who has to wake up early to not get enough sleep." Vepro poured some tea into two tea cups, handling one to Frostbite, who gladly took it.
Frostbite laughed as the thought of Aster tossing and turning around all night not able to get any sleep. He smiled at the grandfatherly figure.
"I once had a brother and sister who were nothing but trouble for me. Our father didn't do anything about it either."
"So how did you survive?" Frostbite sipped some tea.
"Well, I forgot about them. I focused on what I wanted to do in my life. I didn't concentrate on getting revenge at their tricks, actually. Once you get, revenge, it feels really nice, but you soon realise, that no matter how much you hate them, watching your kin suffer is much more painful than any pain they ever cause you." Vepro's voice was littered with shadows of regret and pain. He really did watch his own kin suffer, and his eyes and voice betrayed him for it.
"You want to tell me about it?" Frostbite asked, seeing that the old man also had regrets, troubles, sibling difficulties.
"I don't want to burden you, lad, with my old mistakes."
"Well, sir, I burdened you with mine, it's only fair you burden me with yours." Frostbite said, tentatively.
The old man let out a hearty laugh and slapped the boy's shoulder gently, careful for him not to spill the scorching brew.
"Very well, son. I grew up on his very island, with my father, brother and sister. My mother died giving birth to me, leaving our family a mess. My father ignored me for some time, and my sibling pestered me constantly about his attitude towards me. One day, I decided to drop that. I focused on my own destiny, regardless of what my father thought of me, what prank siblings played on me, I worked day and night on my achieving what I wanted. In the end, my father realised my full potential, and took an interest in me, more than my siblings. My brother and sister grew jealous. Our father was old and frail and would soon die and pass on his inheritance to one of his children. In his will, he wrote he gave it, to his most favoured child, me. I took his place, and not listening to my advice, my siblings stubbornly decided to pursue their own path … they failed … badly. I had to banish them … from our family fortune, because what they did was the greatest sin somebody could commit. I cried watching them crumble to nothingness, even after all their wretched pranks, I still loved them, and I forgave them for a horrible childhood … they just didn't believe me. Learn to forgive, Frostbite, before it's too late, or your conscience will never be cleared."
Frostbite starred into the flame, thinking about the story he was just told. "Then why did you tell me to get revenge on my brother?"
"Well, if I told you to forgive him, to ignore his pranks and to get on with your life, I would sounded like one of your parents, probably. I wanted you to do that small, harmless, prank, and understand that revenge is not the cure to your mental scars." Vepro smiled. "Experience is the greatest teacher of all. You touch a needle point once, you'll learn to be careful with what you sow."
Frostbite thought about what the old man had said. Actually, thinking about it, made him realise, what sort of mistake he would have made from one small prank.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, lad. Drinking tea and giving revenge advice to a troubled soul is always a pleasure." The man said, jokingly.
"No, thank you for your wisdom. I think I've understood, just how misled I have been." Frostbite placed the tea cup down, and left the Mountain of the Forgotten, deep in thought.
Sitting in the Forge that afternoon, Frostbite couldn't get the story out of his head. Suddenly, the devil's head popped into the room.
"So, did you try tell mom or dad to ground me for burning a notebook?" Aster laughed, with Rufflegs and Spitlout behind him.
"Yeah, your right. I did and they didn't listen." Frostbite said, absent-mindedly, without a hint of hurt in his voice.
Aster burst out laughing. "You're more pathetic than I thought."
"And you're also, right, Aster. Who needs these stupid drawing anyway?" Frostbite shocked his younger brother with that statement. The blonde boy walked up to the self and took out another few notebooks, skimming through each one, to show that they were full. "Amazing drawings, but totally useless. Wouldn't you say, little brother? I could do so much better." Frostbite smiled at their shocked faces when he tossed them into the furnace.
Aster, Spitlout and Rufflegs went out of the Forge in complete utter.
"What happened to you, boys? You look like you've seen a Ghost." The Chief stopped in his tracks at look at the boys.
"We might as well, have. Frost just burnt all of his notebooks." Aster said, still in shock.
"And why would he do that?" Hiccup eyed his youngest son.
"Aster, burnt one notebook yesterday, dad, it was nothing. I hated it anyway." Frostbite walked past them, with a smile on his face. "Bro, I forgive you." The blonde put a hand on his brother's shoulder and smiled at him, with no vice and no venom.
There were no words to describe the warrior's expression. Shock wouldn't be near it.
"Oh ok, then, I have to go, now, there's a dragon brawl on the far side of the island with my name on it." Hiccup ran off, with his prosthetic squeaking and all.
Frostbite left the three boys dead in their tracks and jogged up the stairs to his house. He laughed at their expressions. It looks like the old man was right, the civil war between the two brothers would have continued. If Frostbite played a prank on his brother, right now, their quarrel was at a pause for some time. But there was more to that, Frostbite himself felt differently. He forgave Aster all their misunderstandings. Brothers shouldn't be enemies, and Frostbite would continue to forgive the younger boy for the rest of his life. That was one difficulty removed.