152 Chapter 14

How To Train Your Dragon
The New Life For A Hiccup (Reuploaded)

Chapter 14- Stoick's Decision

(Six Years Later)

As Toothless glided through the air on his own, Hiccup flew at his side with his makeshift wings that he made himself. The two friends dove for the sea below, pulling up before hitting the water and disturbing a sleeping wild Scaldron.

As one with the dragons, one with his no longer crazy, mixed up feelings, Hiccup felt alive.

And finally happy.

As the two landed on a nearby rock, Hiccup removed the helmet he had been wearing.

No longer the scrawny, lightweight, puny excuse for a Viking. He was still smaller than most, but in the last eight years, he was taller, his voice deepened, he was in better shape.

And far more intelligent than most Vikings on Berk, that was for sure.

Now, instead of Hiccup the Useless, he was Hiccup the Dragon Whisperer.

Twenty years old and no where to go but up. Soft brown hair fluttered in the blowing wind, piercing green eyes stared at the wide ocean before them. Since leaving Berk, the world had gotten a LOT bigger. Deep inside of him, Hiccup wished he could explore it all, all the way to the (nonexistent) end of the world.

But Hiccup was already happy with his new life, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

With Alvis's sixth birthday coming up soon, and Atla, his wife of three years, pregnant with their first biological child together (Yes, she's pregnant), Hiccup wondered how it was all possible for the incompetent little hiccup he used to be.

And if that wasn't enough for the young man, Hiccup now had many friends among Draak. Alta's father, Hairke, the soon-to-be retired chief of the Bone Head Tribe, was like the father he never had.

But there was more. Since Harike was going to retire from his position as chief, guess who was the one to step up?

Yep, looks like Hiccup was going to be the chief of a tribe after all. Practically everyone in the village thought he would make the perfect chief. He had proved that over the years. Well, except for Ruoy, but that was to be expected, although he did let it go.

But being chief didn't matter to Hiccup. Just as long has he had his family, he felt like he could concur anything.

As Hiccup and Toothless made their way back to the village, he briefly wondered how Berk was doing.

"They probably threw a party when I left," Hiccup said out-loud, bitterly. "I bet they were all so glad to have me out of the picture. Especially Dad."

Toothless nodded his head in agitation. 'I've never met them, but from the way you talk about it, they must have been horrible.'

Hiccup scoffed in agreement. "If they could only see me now, married to a great woman, with a son, a new baby on the way, and soon-to-be chief of a major tribe. Hehe, I'd love to show them. I'd love to show them that a Hiccup can be the greatest Viking alive.

"And you too, Toothless. If only they could see you, the only know living Night Fury."

Hiccup tucked his helmet under his arm and walked through the village. Trained dragons roamed freely, sitting on rooftops and some of the smaller dragons were playfully chasing after some of the younger children.

In the six years Hiccup had been at Draak, he had made a lot of progress with the Bone Head Tribe. He brought peace to them with the dragons. Even though no one found the nest, here were no more raids around Draak.

He got a lot of 'Hi Hiccup's and waves. Some of the younger girls were even staring at him. Apparently, they thought he was hot, even if thinking that way was not very Viking-like.

Hiccup just politely replied and waved back. He was sure those girls were nice people, but he would always have his eyes set on one woman, who was standing on the porch on the chief's house, waiting for him with a small five, almost six, year-old standing next to her.

Alta and Alvis.

They had a hard time at first, their relationship. Hairke had more or less approved of it, once they finally told him (Well, actually they were forced to because of Ruoy, who had unfortunately found out), but people often stared at them and whispered and even spread some rumors. But once Hiccup started helping with the dragons and writing the Book Of Dragons 2, they learned to respect the young couple.

Alta wrapped her arms around Hiccup's neck and kissed him like she usually did every day. Alvis quietly gripped his fathers' leg, almost knocking Hiccup over. As he was greeted by his son and wife, Hiccup felt like the luckiest man alive.

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Elsewhere, things were not going so great for Stoick. Or anyone on Berk.

Since Snotlout became chief, his ego go bigger. He got more and more full of himself. He didn't care about anything.

Not even the good of the village.

Snotlout once asked Astrid to marry him. She said no.

He asked again.

She said no.

He asked again.

She said no. Ever since Hiccup left, she realized her love for him and her heart belonged to him.

This went on and on since a year after Snotlout was made chief.

Four years to be precise.

When Snotlout asked for the millionth time, Astrid once again said no. And he was at his breaking point.

Let's just say that he did something that involved a dragon that was meant to impress Astrid, but it went bad and he ended up destroying half the the houses in the village. Then another thing involving a dragon went bad.

Then another. Then another.

Now, because of this, most of the houses on Berk were gone. Most of the food was gobbled up by dragons. The Vikings were weakening.

It was just a year ago when Snotlout was removed as chief, and Stoick was put back in the position.

But even he didn't know what to do anymore. People were now homeless and getting hungry.

No one blamed Astrid for all of this. No one in their right mind would marry Snotlout. Heck, he was already bound to do something stupid that would ruin Berk anyway.

As Stoick and the people of Berk looked back, on the day Snotlout became chief, all anyone could think about was Hiccup.

If only they were nicer to him. If only they didn't put him down they way that did, he would still be here. Nobody liked the idea of such a scrawny boy being chief, but he sure as heck could have done a better job leading a tribe than Snotlout. At least Hiccup was smart enough to figure out what he was doing.

They all wondered where Hiccup was now. He was so small and helpless when he left. Everyone figured he had probably died of starvation or a dragon attack long ago.

Stoick had gone searching for his son, but he found no trace, which was not a good sign. He always came back with nothing, not even a torn piece of a green tunic.

They had even gone so far as to give Hiccup a funeral two months after he left. There was not a dry eye in the crowd. Children cried themselves to sleep for a solid month after. Adults, including Stoick, felt so much guilt and sorrow that they couldn't get a goodnight's sleep for weeks on end. And the teens at the academy... They felt the worse.

Coincidentally, everyone in the village, Snotlout included, was having a moment of silence for Hiccup. Looking on the bright side, if Hiccup really was dead, at least he was no longer in pain. No one could make him feel small, inadequate, or hurt him again.

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Night was falling on the island of Draak. It was a cool, dark night. The moon and stars were bright. Small dragon noises could be heard beyond the woods. Everyone was in their homes, Hiccup included.

With Alvis curled up at his side, snoring slightly, cuddling his pet Terror, a sort of pre-dragon before he got one to ride on, his wife on his other side, holding his hand, his father-in-law, propped up in a chair, asleep, and Toothless asleep on the floor in the center of the room, Hiccup was simply enjoying a nice, quiet night with his family, the family he'd always wanted.

Atla rested her head on Hiccup's shoulder. He smiled at her. She smiled back.

Careful not to wake his son, Hiccup shifted a little and put his hand on Alta's swollen belly. Their relationship seemed a bit too mushy for Vikings, but no one, especially Hiccup and Alta, seemed to care.

"I love you," she whispered, placing her hand over Hiccup's.

"I love you, too," he whispered back.

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Stoick was at his breaking point.

He was back in charge now, but only because Snotlout was the farthest thing from a good chief

Now, because of him, houses were destroyed. People were starving. They were all also too weak to fight off dragons now, which didn't help one bit.

If only Hiccup didn't leave, if Stoick had only been gentler with his fragile son, maybe he would have been chief. Hiccup being chief sounded like a far better idea than Snotlout being chief.

Stoick ran his fingers through his beard, which now had streaks of grey from his stress. He was walking around the village, wondering how everything fell apart so quickly.

Stoick thought back. He missed his son so much, more than he wanted to admit.

For years, after his wife disappeared, Stoick didn't know what to do with his son. Not only was he small and weak, but he was always ignoring his orders. Due to this, Stoick had tried to keep his son indoors at all times, to protect him from the dangers of the world.

Now Stoick wished he had just let Hiccup be himself.

Stoick blamed himself. Because of him, his son had probably spend days, weeks, or even months alone, cold, hungry and probably hurt.

Because of him, his son had probably been murdered by dragons long ago. Stoick could only imagine how scared his small son had been, how he was probably torn to pieces, his blood splattered everywhere, bite marks littering his body and probably left in pain for hours on end before passing away, feeling unwanted, unloved and hated.

Stoick felt a few tears stream down his face, but he quickly wiped it away. He needed to stay strong for his people. It was what a chief did.

But even Stoick was starting to lose it. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. Without knowing what happened to his son, the Hairy Hooligan chief was sure his tribe would fall apart completely.

Just then, an idea began to form in Stoick's mind. Was it possible that...

No, it wasn't. It had been six years since he left, he couldn't possibly be alive. Not a small boy like him.

But, Stoick wouldn't let it go.

What did he have to lose? His pride?

Screw pride, the chief thought. The future of this tribe is more important than-

No, he though solemnly. My son is more important than my pride.

Mind made up, he started running to the forge. Gobber was there, sharpening an axe while whistling a happy tone. Probably just trying to keep his spirits up like he always did.

Bursting in and nearly giving Gobber a heart attack, Stoick said, "Supply the weapons. We're goin' on a trip."

Gobber was confused. "Eh? Trip? Stoick, this is really bad timin' for another voyage. Where're we goin'?"

"We're goin' to find my son," Stoick stated. "And I won't be satisfied until we find him, dead or alive."