RECAP: As Morgan finished off his brief tasks for Gobber, Gobber himself had told Morgan that the large, four winged dragon was named as a Stormcutter, and his official name was Cloudjumper. Morgan was also told that Valka was the name of the dragon's viking, and those two names somehow struck within his brain, as if he's seen them somewhere. Hiccup, Valka and Astrid all, after a few disagreements, put forward the plans for the drastic solution, in which Hiccup will declare official at the Great Hall tonight.
Throughout the day that had followed from the last time we saw Morgan, it was pretty standard. Nothing newsworthy had occurred, apart from the discussions that went on in the Great Hall. Snotlout, Gustav and Morgan all ended up taking the flight on Fanghook, which was realistically a more ideal route than it was to take the flight on Hookfang, due to how he typically is with Snotlout. They didn't exceed the altitude that Morgan's accustomed to, instead keeping it as he likes it. Fanghook knew Morgan wasn't fond of heights, and the Monstrous Nightmare appreciated his confidence to even confront them in the first place. They were in the air for about 10 minutes, which was more than enough for Morgan to both regain his energy and cool himself off. The rest of the day from that point onwards was just him doing more and more work for the likes of Gobber.
Apart from his flight with Gustav and Snotlout, he didn't really interact with the other vikings. He was so caught within the world of work that it made it hard for him to talk to them. Eret was still trying to get used to his dragon, despite the fact that it's been a while since Skullcrusher became his, and Valka, Hiccup and Astrid all kept together just so they were able to simultaneously ensure they were happy with what they agreed on back in the Great Hall whilst doing their typical tasks. For instance, Hiccup was constructing various parts of a saddle for Toothless at his two-floored wooden house near the cliffs of Berk, whilst his mother and Astrid were at his place at the same time, which gave them the opportunity to discuss whilst Hiccup worked. Fishlegs was also with his dragon, Meatlug, and Ruffnut was with Barf and Belch, feeling comforted by her dragon's presence as a way to get over her brother's death. Scattered in various parts of the island, you could see why it was hard to talk at all during the day.
At one point during the day, Toothless and Cloudjumper both turned up together to Astrid, Valka and Hiccup whilst the three vikings were at the arena after Hiccup completed his construction work at his place. But then, as the Night Fury and the Stormcutter had arrived to their respective vikings, Stormfly then came to Astrid, in what felt for them like an eternity since they all last saw their dragons due to the massive amount of negotiations they had to do for the plans for the next 14 days. It was there that the three of them took a massive flight extravaganza across Berk, whilst the miniature figures that had surrounded the dragon's figures underneath them were working, patrolling or hunting and farming for Berk's food sources. It felt nice for the three of them to fly on their dragons because of the other things they were doing, so it was nice to have a bit of viking and dragon fun. Given the fact that Snotlout, Gustav and Morgan had flew on Fanghook some time before them, it made quite a coincidence. As far as the flock from the sanctuary, combinations of dragons from it made landings in different parts to interact with the vikings; the village, the arena, and the docks where some vikings were stood.
Toothless was his usual self with Hiccup; playful, downright cute, and cuddly with his black scales, whilst Cloudjumper, despite having basically a day of playing with Toothless, was more serious. Stormfly and Astrid adore each other to the point that it didn't bother them how long they had kept apart from each other, which is the bond you'd be wanting to strive for when training a dragon. Whilst Toothless was himself, there was one thing at the back of his mind, something that, although he's tried to not think about too much, is simply starting to overcome his primary obligations. Luckily though, he's had Cloudjumper and the other dragons to play with to keep them thoughts, whatever they may be, from actually coming to reality. It noticeably appeared on his expression whilst in the sky, as his eyes and head had lowered downwards, looking in the middle between sad and uncertain.
That was pretty much the day that occurred from the last time we saw Morgan, and about 11 hours later, it was yet again the end of a typical day. Vikings had packed the Great Hall, mumbling and constantly voicing their vocals in their groups on their wooden tables, whilst Hiccup, Astrid and Valka were readying themselves, well, Hiccup specifically, to make the historical declaration that could potentially result in somebody else replacing him as chief. As mentioned before, today was a regular day on Berk, apart from the negotiations this morning, so that's why we've checked back 11 hours later from the last time we saw Morgan. Speaking of Morgan, he was seated quite a distance from the table that Hiccup and the main vikings were sat at, but on his table was not only Snotlout and Gustav, but Ruffnut as well, because, as he was walking to the hall for his nightly supper, he felt bad for just letting Ruffnut stay in the background after basically being responsible for the death of Tuffnut. He wanted to ensure that there's amends between himself and her, whilst also getting the chance to talk with his two other closest friends; Gustav and Snotlout. They weren't alone, though. They were amongst other vikings on their table, but most of them were divided into their own groups in terms of who they were speaking to, anyways.
The dragons had all typically flew off for the night, but Toothless was once again intending on staying at his best pal's place, so he could get a more relaxing sleep on those hard, yet comfortable stone slabs that Hiccup had got especially for him. The only dragons that Morgan saw today was Toothless and Cloudjumper, from them watching him at the Barn, and Fanghook, from when he took flight on the Monstrous Nightmare's neck with his two closest friends on Berk. Since the rest and the flock were all over the place today, he didn't get a chance to see the others such as Stormfly, Hookfang or Meatlug. As everyone's in the hall at this very moment, Toothless is resting in Hiccup's place, whereas the other dragons have gone wherever they sleep at night.
Morgan, sat in between Gustav and Snotlout, with Ruffnut sitting opposite him, was discussing the type of aspects you find on Britain, recalling that one time where he and Snotlout were on the docks, and Morgan only briefly talked about where he came from, so as everyone was eating their supper, this seemed like the time to continue on from that moment.
"So you've got computers...that phone device I had shown you...you've got tons of animals, and you essentially get to watch things on a screen..." he said, holding his hands up in the air to express his words.
There was some heavy laughing in the background and every direction of the hall from some of the larger vikings, who looked to be drinking what appeared to be Eggnog, yuck.
"What about...dragons?" Gustav asked, after finishing a small portion of fish soup from his wooden bowl.
"Ah...uh..." Morgan was conflicted, he didn't know what to say, because dragons aren't real creatures in the world he comes from, and he didn't want to break that out to Gustav nor the rest of his friends, so he quickly improvised an answer.
"Erm, dragons aren't common, you barely see any of them reptiles, haha"
"If they were common wherever you was, you'd be scraping yourself amongst the floor every second, haha" Snotlout interrupted.
Morgan turned to Snotlout, wanting to play him at his game.
"I will personally make you cry by flying away with Hookfang, got it?"
Snotlout simply didn't take him seriously, and all he did was laugh at Morgan.
"Oh god, you're soooo scarrrrryy! don't do itt pleaaseee!" he heightened his pitch to sarcastically be afraid of Morgan, in which Morgan simply sighed and turned to face Ruffnut in front of him.
"But yeah, Ruff, we've got tons of things..."
Ruffnut looked at Morgan as she was just finishing up her fish soup in her wooden bowl, as she was in between two other larger vikings.
"Cool, it certainly sounds like an energetic environment you've got" she said, with a voice that Morgan couldn't tell if it was genuine intrigue or just a false one.
"Yeaah, haha..." he looked down at the table with his empty bowl, in which he had milk out of it, rather than fish soup.
He suddenly emphasised his eyes on Ruffnut in a bid to try and ensure that she doesn't have any issues, because the last thing Morgan want's is for somebody to hate him.
"Ruff, are you okay?" he asked, resting both his elbows on the table.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine Morgan, look, don't worry about me, I'm feeling great" she insisted, moving a bit of her long hair back from her face.
This relieved Morgan a ton, because now he knows that she hopefully doesn't have any problems with him. He continued on with mumbling to Snotlout and Gustav about his home place, whilst the rest of the hall was mumbling, eating, and just settling in into the viking atmosphere of the Great Hall with the big lit torches on the walls. It's always a wonder if the dragons will ever actually come in here for one of these supper nights, because then it'd be slightly more engaging in Morgan's eyes. He could do a bit of pandering to them whilst he'd be talking as well, like the topic he was just talking about to Snotlout and Gustav and Ruffnut, because although the dragons can't talk, they can certainly understand everything that get's said, given their intelligent nature. Unfortunately, they have better things to do, which is fly in the dark skies over the island of Berk. They get to see the beautiful cliffs and scenery of Berk and the forest from above, which is definitely an advantage for being able to fly, especially at a time where Berk is resting up for the night.
Valka was sat next to Hiccup on a table where the other main vikings including Eret were, after a long, and dragged out day. He was just readying himself up, as was Valka, to go near the wooden pillar in the centre of the Great Hall, which meant that he'd have to slowly walk around it when speaking to get within everyone's view, but it also meant that he had to technically walk up and down the brief steps in which the pillar was situated on, due to having to circle it.
Astrid, after a fun day of flying on her dragon, Stormfly, next to Valka and Hiccup's dragons, looked relaxed as she finished off the final contents of her fish soup. Eret, having gained a better understanding of Skullcrusher, looked more relaxed as well. The two of them were finishing off their supper, before inevitably heading back off down the steps that lead up to the hall from the outside to their huts.
"Son, it's been 10 minutes, are you ready?" Valka asked Hiccup, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Hiccup took in a small amount of air before briefly letting it all out. He swiftly looked at his mother as her palm was grasped gently onto his left shoulder.
"Yes, okay, I'll do it now...uh...yeah uh, I'll do it now" he stuttered, feeling as if he has to do it at this exact moment, just in case he disappoints his mum. That was understandable, because if your mum was gone for two weeks and you saw her again after that, you wouldn't want to disappoint her, which makes you feel the need to do everything in the right manner.
He slowly stood up off his seat in the corner table of the upper part of the Great Hall, slowly moving from the side of the table to walk amongst the crowded ones ahead, filled with large vikings laughing, enjoying milk or some egg-looking liquid, and their supper. The main thing he got from walking through this was constant mumbling noises from the combination of the vikings talking in the hall. Astrid looked up off the table to see Hiccup walking towards the pillar, realising what he's going to do.
"Yep, he's going to do it now" Valka said, noticing Astrid's face aiming for Hiccup.
"Do you uh...do you secretly think that this is just a waste of time? surely, we can do something else for him?" Astrid asked, referring to Hiccup's solution being over the top and a waste of time.
"That's not in my place to say, Astrid. I'm just doing whatever he feels is best, because he's my son, and I can't afford betraying him on anything, considering the circumstances that has brought me to my current status..." Valka said, referring to the death of her husband, Stoick.
Astrid shrugged her shoulders, still feeling skeptical about the entire solution.
At long last, Hiccup walked through the maze of voices and laughing-filled tables to the pillar, where there was a lit torch on all directions of it. He stood on the left side of the pillar, which meant that he was also standing halfway between the very brief steps. He was about to attempt to grab everyone's attention.
"UH, EVERYONE?!" Hiccup yelled, as loud as he possibly could, which caught just a few of tables closest to him.
"U-huh uh, can you tell everyone that I need to say something?" Hiccup asked the vikings on the table to his side.
"EVERYONEEEE, HICCCUP IS SPEAAKINGGGGG" One of the vikings yelled, in the most manly voice heard on Berk to date, with his long beard surrounding the yelling viking's mouth.
"CHRIST" Morgan muttered, caught by surprise from the large voice, but everyone on his table, including Snotlout, Gustav and Ruffnut, finally turned to the centre of the hall at the wooden pillar.
This was the first time that Morgan genuinely felt like a true viking of Berk, with him being amongst the crowd of vikings inside the hall listening to it's own chief make a statement. It just made him feel all the more connected, especially since he's sat next to Gustav and Snotlout.
"Okay uh...welll.." Hiccup's voice echoed, after the hall had fell silent from it's massive mumbling noises.
There were vikings who were also stood up with wooden cups of milk in their hands, who watched from the top part of the hall, too.
"Throughout today, I uh, I've had various discussions with my mum, and uh, Astrid, where we've came up with a plan..a plan that'll potentially put my reputation up for a gamble. We eventually agreed upon a day where...everyone here, and all those who aren't here, and are probably lifeless in their huts across the island right now, votes for a potentially new chief of Berk..." as soon as he finished, there were some extremely baffled faces with audible interrogative tones from specific vikings on the tables.
"So that is why...in the next seven days, six other vikings, whoever they may be, will step up as potential direct opponents to my position, and one of those six will become just that when they all take part in a six-way discussion and debate, where they'll get the chance to have their fair share of the argument, and then at the end, those who WILL be going to it will vote for one of the six to step up to me, and then for the seven days after that, me and whoever my opposition is, will be advertising ourselves, why we should be chief, and most importantly, just how reliable we can be" Hiccup said, gulping at what he was seeing.
This was a TON to take in, and as a result, all the vikings surrounding Hiccup turned to each other with widened eyes and open mouths, with some looking directly confused and some with their faces looking as if they had just seen another Bewilderbeast.
"And then uh..." he slowly walked to the top of the brief steps, looking back at his table briefly whilst moving his hands up and down to express his words naturally, "me and my opposition will take questions in a question session on the second day to the last day of the second seven days, and then after that, you will all go and vote for who you feel should be chief...and please, when you do go and vote...just be honest with yourselves. I have only just recently came to this conclusion, and I can explain myself thoroughly. Two weeks ago, after Morgan had managed to overcome Tuffnut, in the situation where Tuff himself was trying to kill Morgan..."
Morgan's heart suddenly felt like it stopped at the mentioning of his name, with Gustav nudging him slightly. And it was even worse this time because the majority of the vikings in the hall knew who Morgan was due to the commemoration, so some of them looked at him with their long beards and their spiky helmets, putting Morgan on the spot. He HATED being put on the spot, so he was hoping that they'd stop looking at him and he focused his eyes on Hiccup.
"I will admit, I failed to properly handle that situation...but then it made me question myself, what if I'm without Toothless and something like that happens again? what if ALL our dragons disappear one day and I'm standing here as your leader, unable to properly deal with something that should have been dealt with before it escalated to how it ended up..and this question is the basis of my low thoughts...I've had sleepless nights about the prospect, about everything...which is why I feel like if I go through with this solution THIS drastic, the end result will hopefully be that I can feel normal about myself again. This is something that shouldn't be taken lightly, you all now have the chance to get involved in a history making moment, whilst also powering up the cure for my unstable state. In the name of the Hairy Hooligans and Berk itself, you'll be able to vote for who YOU want to be chief..and uh...in terms of the dragons, I believe, because we've established so much with them, it's only fair that they get a say in this vote as well, right? I'll uh...I'll flip out something for that part...but uhm..." he cleared his throat, "yeah, that's all there is, so uh, anybody here wanting to step up, now is your chance.." Hiccup took a heavy puff of air.
There was whispering mumbles amongst everyone in the hall; Hiccup was absolutely insane in their mind, to go ahead and put something this gigantic forwards to them; it was ALOT to take in, and as a result, the vikings themselves didn't know what to say. But the main thing is; what type of viking island would do something like this? they're a TRIBE.
Morgan wasn't shocked, but instead, he felt energetic despite just feeling under pressure from everyone looking at him. Suddenly, Gustav and Snotlout turned to face him and each other. They kept their voices in a whispered tone as Hiccup started to move back up towards the table.
"What...wha-" Gustav muttered, stuttering, before being interrupted by Snotlout.
"It's Hiccup being Hiccup again" Snotlout said, as the voices of the hall were starting to emerge again.
"No...he just basically said that we're going to vote for a new chief or him...so this is uh...this is like an election sort of thing...oh my god..." Morgan suddenly had a huge smile across his face. This was a completely political thing for him. "Gustav, Snotlout, you know what? I'm welcoming the opportunity. I'm putting myself forwards for that, for sure..."
"Morgan, in all seriousness? you're far from a credible potential chief, haha..." Snotlout laughed, nodding towards the table as he suddenly stood up off his seat.
Morgan followed Snotlout's head as it moved up from him standing up.
"Snotlout, you always judge a book by it's cover, don't you?"
"Maybe if you managed to complete that training session that I did for you back at the forest where you couldn't even climb a hook...ONE HOOK, then perhaps? but Morgan, you couldn't and you won't do nearly as good in something like this, anyways, I'm out of here, before Hookfang suddenly burns me to a crisp, haha" Snotlout laughed.
"I KNEW IT! I KNEW HE WAS A DRAGO SUPPORTER ALL THIS TIMEEEEE!" Eret's voice echoed, in a deepened, loud state, as he stood up off his chair and pointed at Morgan in the distance.
"W-Woah, Eret what'-" Valka said, as she was sat near him, but he didn't let her finish.
The entire hall was hearing this, as well.
"HE LOOKED STRANGE FROM WHEN I FIRST STEPPED BACK IN HERE THIS MORNING, AND OF COURSE, IT ALL MAKES SENSE, HE KILLED TUFF IN THE NAME OF DRAGO...THAT'S WHY TUFF ISN'T HERE...YOU TRAITORRRRR!"
Morgan was quick to stand up besides Snotlout, naturally panicking, but he didn't turn for the door. The hall fell silent again, as one set of faces were turned to Morgan, and the other set was turned to Eret screaming his vocals off.
"Let him rattle on, he's just making himself look like the weirdo here..." Morgan insisted, talking collectively to the viking faces that were looking at him with their long beards, and some with mustaches with their menacing helmets.
"WOAH WOAH, ERET, CALM DOWN, CALM DOWN...LISTEN, EVERYONE, THERE'S UH...THERE'S BEEN A MISUNDERSTANDING, MORGAN, NOBODY HERE FOR A SECOND BELIEVES THAT, ALRIGHT? JUST UH...JUST TO AVOID ANYMORE CONFRONTATIONS, EVERYONE, I THINK IT'S BEST IF WE CALL IT A NIGHT FOR THE HALL...REMEMBER WHAT I SAID, MAKE SURE YOU SPREAD IT TO THOSE WHO COULDN'T BE IN THE HALL TONIGHT..." Hiccup insisted, sweating at Eret's accusation. The vikings in the hall were once again muttering amongst themselves in their whisper, with some still holding their cups of milk whilst slyly looking at Morgan.
Morgan nodded at that, and he slowly but neutrally walked towards the hall door, with Snotlout following him from behind. He wasn't taking this seriously because everyone knows it's a blatant lie that never happened. Slowly, Morgan opened the hall door with his right hand and walked through it to get to the darkness of the skies of Berk on the top of the long set of steps that lead back down to the village. The rest of the hall was starting to prepare to leave, as well. Snotlout did the opposite; rapidly opening the hall door to walk out to meet Morgan.
"Look, what is his problem?" Morgan asked Snotlout.
"What're you asking me for? I couldn't have a slice of a clue, haha, but you know what? that was completely uncalled for, you know? I at least joke around, him? he genuinely believes in what he says"
"I know, but Snotlout...I was serious when I said that I wanted to welcome the opportunity...come on, let's get down from here and I'll discuss it further with you"
Snotlout didn't intend for things to go this way, but he nodded at Morgan. The two of them were quick to start making their way down the steps back to the ground of Berk. The village nearby had lit torches, so the huts were incredibly visible, making Morgan's journey back to his hut all the more easier when he goes back.
Ruffnut and Gustav were extremely shocked, more so Ruffnut, at what Eret just said. Gustav quickly slid his chair across the ground to step on his feet and walk for the hall door. Ruffnut looked at Eret as he shrugged his shoulders. She gave him a face that was asking why he did what he just did.
"Eret, I told you this morning about this, what is your problem with that kid?" Valka asked, not sounding amused with him.
"I don't like the look of him, he sounds exactly like me in terms of how I speak, who is he gonna kill next? our dragons? Hiccup, you might wanna keep an eye on him..."
Hiccup refrained from using the past to get back at Eret, and instead, tried to calm the hall down by letting things flow like they did before Eret decided to stick his nose in the accusation soil.
As all of this happened, Toothless was well away within his sleep on his stone slabs in Hiccup's room; the Night Fury was clearly enjoying whatever he was dreaming about, and it was obvious, given his purring during his sleep. This is the most in a single week that Toothless has slept with Hiccup, instead of the other dragons elsewhere on the island. He's obviously grown a liking of sleeping with his best pal, right? perhaps it's something else entirely?
Talk about the ultimate phrase 'a lot to take in' because that is just what it is. Hiccup has just made history, announcing an election-like competition in which he's putting his position as the Chief of Berk and the Hairy Hooligans on the line to six other vikings, in which one of those six will be voted to be Hiccup's opposition, and Morgan is clearly signing himself up for the challenge. Toothless has unusually came back to Hiccup's place for tonight, when he typically enjoys being with the other dragons, but something is clearly on his mind, and for once, it ISN'T about Hiccup. Will this announcement affect the legacy of Hiccup's family? will Eret take his accusations even further? how will Morgan cope with becoming a potential opposition with somebody like Eret blaming him for being a Drago supporter? Cloudjumper still intends on encountering Morgan, in which Morgan absolutely fears him, so how will he cope with the challenge as that moment looms nearby? so many questions, but it's all about history making, and clearly, Morgan want's apart of it.