HEY-YO, ABHASCLASH HERE WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER.

ONWARDS:


"I want to leave Berk, and explore the world."

Silence. Deep rooted silence. Eerie quiet-before-the-storm silence.

Stoick sat completely shock-stilled. While he had deduced what Hiccup had wanted to say, or better, could have wanted to say, it still shocked him to hear it with his own ears.

Both Stoick and Gobber stared at the boy, who was now flicking his sight between his father and godfather/mentor, a bit unsure now. Finally, it was the latter who broke first.

"Leave? Leave Berk? As in ... uhhh ... LEAVE leave?"

"LEAVE leave- no! Not permanently, just ... you know, temporarily. I wanna explore. You know, roam and gather information."

"Right. Why?"

Hiccup seemed taken aback at that.

"Why? G-Gobber, why?? What do you mean by why???"

"Why means why, lad. Why are you leaving Berk?"

"To explore! To see the world! It's much bigger than this archipelago! It's a big and wonderful place, a visual beauty, and -

"Extremely dangerous."

It was Stoick who said this. That, and his volume was eerily quiet.

Hiccup's sight whipped over to Stoick, who was regarding him with a frown.

"Very, VERY dangerous to those who do not know it and are not used to it."

Hiccup seemed exasperated already.

"And it will stay that way unless I go out there and get used to it!"

"What part of the word 'dangerous' can't you understand, Hiccup?"

"Every part o- I mean, none of i-... I... gaah, dad, I understand the word just FINE!"

Stoick just glared.

"C'mon dad, doing new things means that a certain risk will be present, always! And danger, of course. That doesn't mean new things aren't done! That, and I have a Night Fury! You know what having an overprotective Night Fury means, don't you dad?"

Now Stoick seemed exasperated. Really, the stubbornness did run in the family. These two made Gobber proud, well done.

"You know, as well as I do, son, that he will not be there to protect you every second of the way. What then, huh? Lifting weapons aren't enough if you don't know how to use them."

Hiccup ran a hand down his face.

"And remind me whose fault that is? Is it my fault that you were busy all the time? Or is it my fault that Gobber was busy all the time too? Or- or is it my fault that I had no friends here?"

"I didn't say that, son."

"Then what did you want t-"

"Hold on."

Gobber finally re-entered the fray.

"That's it! Your friends! You can take them!"

Stoick seemed to want to argue, but Gobber shushed him.

"Think about it, Stoick. What the lad is saying is true, we need knowledge about what is OUT THERE! And with the entire group, safety is not a question! You think anyone will want to even cross paths with five fire breathing dragons?"

Stoick didn't have an argument to that. That didn't mean his frown would have to leave, though.

This was a problem for Hiccup - he had tried his best not to encroach that topic, and was doing it wonderfully until now. Too late for that, he guessed. But before he could say anything, Gobber continued.

"It's dragon training all over again, Stoick. Your dissent won't stop Hiccup- he will leave. You won't be able to stop him."

Stoick finally shifted his frown to Gobber, who merely shrugged.

"That's who he he, Stoick. He is your son, after all."

Even Hiccup awaited for a bit of clarification on that statement.

"Remember how he used to build all that and go out there just to 'kill a dragon'? All that disobedience? Because HE wanted to do that! He couldn't- wouldn't kill when the time came, but that's different. He is like you, Stoick- he has set his sight. It will be mighty difficult to sway him. I know him."

Stoick now seemed plain unsure. Gobber placed a hand on Stoick's shoulder.

"You know the saying, 'The more a fruit is restricted, the more sweeter it seems', don't you? Doesn't matter if it's the most bitter fruit in existence. Trust me, old friend. If they pull it off, it will be of great importance to the village!"

Stoick finally seemed mildly agreeable, but this put Hiccup into panic.

"Thanks, Gobber. Really, thank you, but I was kindda hoping to pull this off my myself. Me and Toothless, that's it."

Now, even Gobber seemed mildly exasperated.

"You intend to roam the world alone? Without any sort of backup or protection?"

"Of course not. I have Toothless!"

"Really? Him? Are you absolutely sure that he will be able to save you from anything and everything out there?"

"Of course! He is a night Fury! The most feared dragon out there!"

"Not to mention, rare."

Whenever Stoick spoke after a bit of contemplative silence, it was always with a tone purely derived to strike a sense of foreboding in the people who are listening to him. This time was no different as Hiccup felt a chill run up his spine.

"That's right, I said it. The most rare and elusive dragon. Probably the last one too, your dragon. Have you ever thought why that is, Hiccup?"

Hiccup was rendered completely speechless.

"They can't just die like that. So someone must be hunting and killing them. Prosecuting them. Why, I don't know. People out there still kill dragons and sell their insides and hides. Might fetch a good price in those areas, your Night Fury. Or just vengeance, as this species has purged entire communities and villages once. Or just sport, seeing how difficult and glorious it was to capture and kill a Fury."

Hiccup gulped.

"But dad, that was during the dragon war. The Red Death was responsible for all that."

"Not everyone knows that son. They won't miss the chance to bring down your dragon, and will have you prosecuted for - for consorting with the enemy or something!"

"Then they are fools to think that dragons are still out enemies and not question why no dragon hunts have occured for the past year."

"That they are. But that doesn't change that they are vikings- people who swing before asking. The fact that they are stupid big oafs doesn't change that they are stubborn and dangerous."

"Just like you, then."

Stoick visibly bristled at the insinuation.

"No, Hiccup. Maybe once, yes. But not now. You know that, and you know why, son."

Hiccup sat back and folded his arms.

"I had really thought you trusted me more, dad. I had really thought you had started to trust me after I did all this for Berk."

Stoick opened his mouth to retort, but Hiccup didn't give him the chance.

"I have done dangerous deeds dad. Hel, I have probably done the most dangerous thing ever- killing the Red Death. Anyone remember that? Oh, and I also made Alvin our ally and put Dagur in jail. Anyone recount those?"

Stoick looked annoyed, while Gobber was apparently enjoying the show.

"Thought so. Why can't you trust me, dad?"

"Because as of right now, because of all of your brave and dangerous acts, you are missing a third of you left leg."

Complete unnerving silence. Even Gobber's smile dropped. Stoick's angry look and those thinly pressed lips didn't falter, however.

Hiccup opened his mouth to say something. Then, he closed it and slumped back on his seat, defeated. There was no answer to that.

Stoick smirked, then sat back himself.

"Working alone is satisfactory and rewarding, yes - I should know, as I work alone. Well, mostly. But that isn't safe for where you want to venture out to. Your friends are idiots, yes, but you need them for protection. They won't let you die - you are the son of the chief, and abandoning you is an act of treason, and it won't go unpunished."

This time, though, Hiccup snarked right back.

"Oh, yes, of course. The incident that happened three years ago, where my own cousin beat me up while being accompanied by the twins was their way of giving me protection. Oh gods, why didn't I see that?"

Stoick visibly stiffened, and was about to reply when Hiccup beat him to it

"By your words, those were the definition acts of treason. You know, beating me up, abandoning me, and all the following - in short, treason. Yet, what was the punishment again? A public admonishment and being grounded?"

"Because you weren't DEAD! And they were kids! Do you think I would have let them go if you were... were..."

Stoick would rather choke up that say the next word out loud. Truthfully, so would any parent. No parent should ever see their own children die, and here was Hiccup, asking his dad to let him go out to see the world. A place where his whimsical, idiotic, impulsive and callous self will get in trouble, and most likely die. Stoick would have laughed if the issue wasn't so serious.

Stoick shook his head, cleared his throat and stood up, all seven feet two inches of him towering over anyone, everyone and everything around him.

"No, Hiccup. It's a no from me. You either go with your group, or you don't go at all. It's an order from your chief."

The last bit was added when Stoick saw his son open his mouth to retort. It promptly shut him up. Hiccup sat back, muttering angrily under his breath and seething.

Stoick was about to turn around, when Gobber spoke up softly - well, as soft as Gobber could be, anyway.

"Why don't you want your friends to go with you, lad?"

Hiccup all but blurted out in anger.

"Because THEY AREN'T MY FRIENDS! THEY AREN'T MY REAL FRIENDS!!!"

Stoick whipped his gaze back to Hiccup.

"What did they- did they do anything to you , Hiccup?"

Hiccup calmed down a bit.

"No, dad. They didn't do anything to me. Not recently, anyway."

"So..."

"No, dad. It's just that ... I have been thinking. I say that they are not my friends because they aren't. Do real friends bully you and ostracize you just for being you for the first fifteen years of your life? No, they don't."

And that's all it took for both the adults' hearts to break.

"Real friends don't hate you, but take you in for what you are. These guys didn't. No, they suddenly wanted to become friends when they saw me riding a Night Fury, and when I became famous in the village for good reasons instead of bad ones. They wanted to be my friends when I had the rarest dragon, and when I proved I wasn't USELESS, as Snotlout had so graciously put it, by bringing down and riding Toothless."

"Lad..."

"No, Gobber, they did all this. Bullied me or completely ignored me. Did you think I would forget? Did the village or my so called friends think I would forget??? Fifteen years, Gobber, FIFTEEN YEARS. No, I won't forget all that, ever. You know what I call them, Gobber? Fake friends. FAKE. Completely F. A. K. E!!!"

Gobber just looked worriedly between father and son - the father who was wearing a completely stoic face, and the son, who was on the verge of shedding tears. Hiccup then suddenly stood up.

"I am sorry, dad, that I have emotions, an that I won't be able to stand it if they come with me on this. They don't care about me, or think about me, or worry about me. No, they just worry about themselves. Fake friends tend to be like that - selfish."

"Lad, they were worried about you. That's why they left to search for you!"

Hiccup just scoffed at that.

"Worried? Pfft, don't make me laugh, Gobber. No, they were more worried about their own skin than my wellbeing."

Hiccup shook his head, then stared right at Stoick.

"Well, it's a no, isn't it dad? Fine. For me, though, I will go alone, with Toothless, or not go at all. Gobber is right on one thing though, that you cannot stop me. You may disown me, but then, you had done it once. Nothing is stopping you now, and seeing that you have had practice, it will be easy for you."

"Son..."

Hiccup started moving towards the stairs.

"No, dad. Thanks for the talk and your time. You're free now."

Silence reigned as Hiccup stride towards the stairs. However, as he placed his real foot on the first step, Gobber spoke up.

"What about that lass? That, um, Bog? Camcrazy, if I remember correctly..."

Both the other heads whipped to face his own. Stoick looking on in surprise, while Hiccup looked downright gobsmacked. His look look being accentuated by raised eyebrows, an open mouth and a couple of twitching eyes.

"Camcraz- Gobber, do you mean Camicazi???"

Gobber shrugged a bit while standing up.

"Eh, same old. Got the first three letters right, didn't I?"

Hiccup stood there, incredulously speechless, gaping at Gobber like a beached fish. Gobber smirked when he saw Hiccup's lips' edges twitching upwards, as if his apprentice was trying, and failing, to not smile.

"Besides, I remember how she used to follow you and play with you all the time she was here. Only with you. And, I suppose the same happened when you went over to Bog Island, didn't it?"

A small nod.

"So, by that definition, she is a real friend. Not a fake friend. I remember her, a tiny little blonde ball of energy. That, and she was quite the fighter. Heard she was one of the best swordfighters of her age! Protection and friends, right there! Case solved!"

Stoick finally spoke up.

"Case solved?!? Gobber, that's just one other person. Just two people ... are you crazy???"

"Dad, if I were you, I won't to be belittling Cami's sword capabilities. She could fight off multiple people, much more bigger than her, quite single handedly at the age of ten. I should know, I was there."

Hiccup then turned to Gobber.

"But that's that, Gobber. I last saw her at The Thing six years ago. We haven't talked much, as raids were getting badder and stuff. Hel, I don't even know if she has a dragon. I know that the Boys took to dragons too, after we did. And knowing Cami, she would be the first one to befriend a dragon. But we haven't talked and stuff..."

"Then you better get out there and talk to her, lad! It'll be quick - you have a Night Fury after all! Go and talk, see if she wants to go! She will, I know her!"

"Gobber, how can you know her? You misspelled her name. It's literally impossible to forget her name!!!"

"Eh, tomaeto tomaato.Doesnt matter, lad. It's that same person we are talking about, so it's okay. But I know her, and how you used to complain how she used to steal your various belongings. And, I know that her kind of people love adventures. She will agree the moment you ask. I know it."

Hiccup nodded, in a daze, then looked up excitedly.

"Right. Yes, I am gonna do that. Thanks Gobber, really. Yes, she can come, she was good to me, and we used to be best friends. Yes, this might work, and, of course, everyone wins! Why didn't I think of this???"

Hiccup hurried upstairs to wake Toothless. Then, he opened the roof latch, rose up through it with Toothless on his heels, and closed the latch. He then quickly took off for Bog Island.

Stoick and Gobber had come out of the house and saw the entire thing. Right up until both boy and dragon were a black speck in the sky. Both the grown ups were smiling.

"How did you do that, Gobber?"

Stoick sounded wondrous, almost reverent. Gobber laughed.

"Oh, simple answer. I am awesome."

Both laughed really hard at that.

"I guess that the bog girl will have to do. She was an impressive fighter. That, and she was a fierce supporter and protector of Hiccup. I got a good feeling, Gobber. Thanks."

"Aye, don't mention it. You two don't know how to talk, that's all. I do, no matter how hilarious my memory tends to be."

Both adults chucked at that. Stoick looked up at the sky, and did a double take. It was a little ways past noon.

"Well, I guess that mead will have to wait. I have to be at Bucket's, and I am already late."

Gobber snickered as Stoick took off.

"Bucket's, eh? Good luck!"

Stoick just waved back before disappearing down the little hill. Gobber looked back to where his apprentice and his dragon had disappeared, and smiled to himself.

He had a good feeling about this too. All will be well.


YES, I KNOW FANDOMS STATE HOW STOICK IS SIX FEET SEVEN INCHES, BUT THE FIRST 'ART OF HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON' CLEARLY STATES THE CHIEF BEING SEVEN FEET TWO INCHES TALL. SO, I FOLLOWED IT.

ANYWAY, PLEASE REVIEW. NO MORE REVIEWS SINCE SECOND LAST CHAPTER. WAAHHHHHH.

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ABHASCLASH.