As Berk cleared from the docks as Hiccup left, Astrid and Toothless watched solemly as he sailed off into the distance until he was out of sight. Toothless quietly purred and Astrid smiled petting his head. "It's ok, he'll be fine." She said reassuring herself more than him. She grabbed his saddle and led him back towards Berk taking him into the hangar.
She was just locking the door when Alvin stepped around the corner walking out. "Alvin? Why are you-" "Taking a evening walk, nothing more." She thought he was alone until another man walked out with a sheep following close behind him. "Mildew!? What are you doing here?" He smiled with rotten teeth, "You didn't think I'd be gone forever now did you? I heard of Stoicks death I came here to help, but when I got here, I found that Alvin was here as well. And we was just talking about how Hiccup made him cheif."
Toothless growled and Mildew flinched as Fungus bleated and hid behind him. "He did not! No one was made chieftain, but I'm next in line when Hiccup isn't here. So we don't need you, or even Alvin for that matter. So both of you can go ahead and leave anytime, sooner than later." Astrid yelled as Alvin and Mildew looked at each other raising their eyebrows.
"Astrid, Berk cannot be left without a cheiftian, the people chose me at the Great Hall. Officially? No, but neither was Hiccups after the Bewilderbeast. Some things have to take place in order for the well being of the people." Alvin said stepping over to her. "And besides, I've already got a second in command appointed." He said gesturing to Mildew who smiled. "At your service. I was happy to accept the position since Berk is in such a delicate state now from the mess Hiccup left it in. I was wondering how long it would take for him to run this island into the ground, and from the looks of it. He's done it in record time, Stoick would be so proud."
Mildews eyes went wide as Astrid stormed over punching him as hard as she could in the face, he dropped to the ground covering his mouth with his hand. Alvin laughed as Astrid stepped back shaking her hand, "Haha! Good one, I needed a good laugh! But did you have to aim for his mouth? He needs teeth to talk but honestly, he looks repulsive enough with the ones he has." Mildew scowled as he shakily stood up, he removed his hand to reveal a bloodied face and much fewer teeth. "You will regret that." He said spitting blood to the ground. Astrid grinned as she walked away, "Says the person with three teeth."
Back at her hut she rested on her bed dozing off when she heard a quiet knock on the door. Stormfly roused from her sleep and squawked fully waking Astrid up. She groggily walked over to the door yawning, "I'm coming, I'm coming." She opened the door to see Fishlegs standing there with Meatlug, a small bag fastened to her saddle. "Can I come in?" Astrid nodded and he slowly stepped inside. "Is everything ok?" Astrid yelled in frustration and started to pace the floor. "No, everything's not ok. Mildew is here and Alvin has named himself cheif, and I can't ask the people to reason with me because they would choose him! And we still have dragon raids to worry about! And on top of that, Hiccup is Thor knows where going after the Skrill alone! So no, everything is not ok." She said angrily crossing her arms.
Fishlegs shuffled his feet and started wringing his hands. "Well... we can try to help. How about sending a Terror Mail to Heather in case Hiccup goes there, just so they're ready." Astrid let out a sigh grabbing a pencil from her desk. "I guess so, I'll be sure to try and explain everything. Would you hand me that paper?"
She started writing with Fishlegs standing near by looking around. He noticed her betrothal necklace hanging around her neck. "So... have you and Hiccup talked about a wedding? It's been so long since your betrothal." Astrid hand trailed down the chain grabbing the medal. "Not yet, but honestly. With the kind of time we've been having this past year. We have hardly any time to talk at all. I'm fine waiting, he waited on me for years to even notice him. Least I could do I wait until all this is sorted out." Fishlegs nodded walking over to Meatlug.
When she finished she grabbed a Terror and sent it off, Fishlegs reached Meatlug who was quietly playing with Stormfly and started wringing his hands again, "Astrid, can I ask you something?" Astrid looked at him strangely, "Uhh, sure. What is it?" Fishlegs glanced to Meatlug, "Well, you and Hiccup have known eachother for a long time and now you're betrothed... And, uhh. Me and Heather have know eachother for quite a long time too. I... I want to ask her to be my betrothal, but I'm not sure what to do. I tried asking Hiccup before he left but I never got the chance."
He grabbed the small bag from Meatlug and reached inside to pull out a silver bracelet engraved with Heathers name and had a Razorwhip with green emerald eyes circling the entire length. Astrid gasped carefully grabbing it from him, "Fishlegs, it's beautiful! Did you make this yourself?" He nodded smiling, "It's made entirely out of Gronckle Iron, and I found the emeralds in a cove near Valka's Dragon Sanctuary. Do you... do you think she'll say yes?" Astrid smiled warmly at him, "Definitely, when was you planning on asking her?" He took the bracelet back and carefully placed it back in the sachel.
"When Hiccup got back and everything was calmed out a bit, but not now. And please don't tell anyone else about this." Astrid grabbed his hand, "You can trust me, but there's no need to hide it, you two are perfect for eachother. Which is exactly what she used to say to me, but if you want to wait. I totally get it, just don't wait too long. Snotlout might make his move first, but I'm pretty sure I'd know what the answer to him would be." They both laughed and stepped outside.
Spitelout came running past them with a sword in his hand and nearly knocked Astrid down. "Hey! Watch where your going!" Astrid screamed as he turned around to help her up. "Sorry lass, but you two need to get your dragons ready. The A-team has spotted a huge group of hostile dragons approaching from the North about half a day out. A massive dragon raid is coming and Alvin has called village meeting in the Great Hall." Astrid and Fishlegs gave eachother worried looks and ran through the dark towards the Great Hall
"People of Berk! These dragon raids have gone on too long, the island is still to weak to properly defend itself with the use of dragons!" Alvin said standing in the fire lit Hall. Lanterns swinging from the wind gusts coming in through the open doors. He over looked the packed Hall standing by the throne Mildew by his side. "Years ago we fought dragons with primeval methods, but we have progressed so far from those days. The time of peaceful defense is over! It's time to take the fight seriously and actually start defending ourselves!" The crowed looked to one another nervously before the Riders came through the door.
Valka came to stand on the steps in front of the throne looking over the crowd. "Peace is what brought the dragons and Berk together, this might be troubling times, but fighting with force isn't the answer. All you're trying to do is find a way to get rid of dragons!" Mildew sneered at her, "Hiccup said the same thing about the Screaming Death, but where is he now? Out to find a dragon stronger than it so he can defeat it. Force sometimes must be used, even as last resort. And we reached the end of the line by using peaceful methods." Valka turned to face him lowering her voice to a loathing whisper, "We both now the only reason Hiccup is out there is because you two put him there."
Alvin smiled, "Yes. I know, but tell me this. When Hiccup tried to reason with Drago, how did that end? With Stoick being killed by force stronger than him. Even Hiccup had to use force when defeating the Bewilderbeast." Valka's hands clenched as she took a step toward him, "Ah ah ah, Stoick is no longer here to protect you, I would choose your next action very wisely. Your opinion is not of importance Valka, my advisor and mine is all that counts. You might have been an influence when Stoick was here. But now, your just a voice in the crowd, so get back in it." He said leaning towards her, the crowd stared in shock from what he said as her face slackened and turned towards the ground as she stepped down.
Alvin smiled as Astrid came to gently lead her out, Alvin straightened up looking over the fearful crowd. "Good, now that the thorn in my side is gone, it's time to get to work." He paused for a moment letting the crowd murmur die down. "People of Berk! We could build our own weapons and lose valuable time and resources! But I have an alternative, why don't we use the best dragon trapper equipment in this known world. Drago Bludvist left countless traps, net launchers and cannons behind. I have scourged the battle field gathering every last lever and gear to rebuild a massive armory." He said gesturing to a massive load of metal and parts being carted outside the open doors by a group of large men grunting with effort.
The entire hall stood in shock as they say three more carts pass by headed to the forge, each one filled to the brim with all sorts of pieces of weapons. Alvin stepped over to the tapestry of a Viking riding a dragon behind the throne and tore it down, it fell to the ground dust flying everywhere. He carried it over to the fire pit and threw it in, the entire hall stood and watched as the beautiful tapestry was quickly engulfed in flames soon turning to ash. He stormed back up the steps turning to once again face the crowd. "I say we take down the dragons once and for all! The time for peace is over, now is the time for attack! Now who's with me!!" the crowd remained silent as Alvin threw his arms out over the crowd.
The crowd looked nervously to one another all afraid to say anything. Spitelout stood above the crowd frowning, "Stoick tried this once with the Red Death with weapons we thought at the time was perfectly fine. The dragons have evolved with us, becoming smarter and better equipped to fighting us. We didn't just sit around letting them attack us when they did. They learned our moves and evaded our defenses. You will lead this island into a war against the rest of the Archipelago. And I'm not going to help you in any way with that."
A few people nodded their heads in agreement and the Dragon Riders all looked to each other warily. "Fine then, those who don't like this plan can go, but this will happen with it without you. And if you're not with us, your against us." Spitelout and the riders all left with a few more Vikings. "Alright then, now that we've weeded out the traitors from the Vikings." He said calmly as he grabbed a sword from one of the passing carts and threw it at the wall, going through the head of a dragon on a tapestry, it sunk into the stone a foot before stopping waving back and forth. The crowd jumped back and looked in horror as he slowly pulled it back out, a shrill scraping noise filled the air. He rubbed the edge with his fingers pointing the end towards the crowd. "I'll ask again, Who's with me!!" The entire hall raised their hands and shouted in agreement, "I am!" Alvin smiled gently placing the sword back. "That's what I thought, now let's begin."
