Chapter 22 –
Hiccup and Toothless managed to wake up and get themselves out of the house just as dawn finished breaking over Berk the morning after Drago was defeated. Hiccup knew without checking that Jack hadn't come back to the house the previous night since Toothless would've reacted to him doing so and hadn't. Grabbing some bread and yak butter, Hiccup and Toothless headed for the beach where the Alphas and, presumably, Jack would be without waking Stoick or Valka up, a feat that Hiccup was particularly proud of since his father was asleep in the loungeroom and his mother was in Jack's room close to the kitchen. Hiccup and Toothless took in the ice-covered village and couldn't help their initial thoughts of how pretty the ice looked in the fresh morning light before they shook their heads and flew towards the western beach.
Hiccup grinned as he spotted Jack sitting in the sand almost directly between the two massive dragons, looking no bigger than a speck in comparison to them. The beach had been big enough for both of them but only just, with both their lower halves still in the water while they rested their heads on their front legs, both looking in Jack's direction. From the way Jack was moving, it seemed as though the winter spirit was entertaining them with a story. Everyone looked up as Toothless and Hiccup came into land behind Jack and Baby Tooth chirped out a greeting before she flew over to Toothless to speak with him, having not had the chance to do so since the previous afternoon when Hiccup made the promised check of Jack's injury.
"Hey, I didn't expect to see you guys so early," Jack said, not moving from where he'd been sitting as he watched Hiccup and Toothless approach him.
Hiccup sat on his right, facing Jack completely, though he made sure he wasn't being rude and sitting with his back fully to the dark Alpha. "Thought you might want some breakfast," Hiccup said, handing the bread slathered with yak butter over before he reached for Jack's arm. "I also want to check your burn again and change the bandages, if it needs it," he said.
"Thanks," Jack said, happily taking a bite of the bread. "Knock yourself out," he added, holding out his right arm as he held the bread in his left and continued eating.
Hiccup started unravelling the bandages carefully, not wanting to dislodge all of the snow in one go since it would make a bit of a mess. "How's everything going?" he asked as he kept tending to the injury while Toothless bowed to both Alphas respectfully before he started playing with Baby Tooth.
Jack shrugged. "We're doing good," he told him. "Frostfire's healing nicely and is thinking about searching for somewhere around here to set up a new haven for his dragons while Glacialaurora and I have made really good progress with his healing," Jack said, smiling up at the dark Alpha.
"Who and who?" Hiccup asked, pausing in what he was doing.
"Oh yeah," Jack said as he realised why Hiccup was confused. "I was calling them 'light Alpha' and 'dark Alpha' in my mind and it was getting pretty confusing so I asked whether they would be okay with me giving them a name each. Frostfire seemed to really like his name but it took me and Glacialaurora a while to come up with a name we both liked for him," Jack explained.
"Why Glacialaurora?" Hiccup asked, going back to unravelling the bandage around Jack's arm.
"Well, where I'm from, 'aurora' is another word for dawn, which symbolises new beginnings or starting fresh," Jack explained. "Once I explained that to him, Glacialaurora thought it suited him," Jack said. The dragon in question gave a light huff of agreement and Jack grinned warmly up at him.
"I think both their names suit them," Hiccup said, giving the Alphas a smile. "I'll make sure the village knows their names, assuming you have no plans on going up there today?" he asked, tugging the last of the bandage free and carefully pulling the snow away. Jack had frozen it to make sure it wouldn't melt or become powdery at the touch, making it easier for Hiccup or anyone who checked Jack's arm to do so.
Jack shook his head. "I'm gonna stay here with Glacialaurora and Frostfire, if he's not out looking his new haven," Jack said, finishing the last of his breakfast up.
Hiccup gave an unsurprised nod. "Alright," he said, not bothering to argue with his friend. He'd known once he realised Jack wasn't in the house that morning that Jack would likely be spending his time with Glacialaurora, at least for the next few days. "Do you want us to bring you some food at lunchtime and dinner or are you going to be back up at the house by dinner?" he asked instead.
"I'll take the offer of a delivered lunch but I'm not sure about dinner yet," Jack told him. "How's it looking?" he asked, trying to get a good look at his injury.
Hiccup grimaced. "It's healing a lot faster than it would be if you were human and it looks a lot better than it did yesterday but I think it's going to scar up," Hiccup told him, a hint of apology in his voice. "It probably needed fresh snow on it again after an hour or so to prevent that," he said.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Jack told him, twisting his arm to take in the injury better. Hiccup was right; it did look better than it had the previous day. Rather than being faced with angry-red skin, blisters filled with pus, and bloodied patches with the skin completely gone, Jack saw mildly red skin, a few, small blisters, and freshly healed skin in shiny, tight patches. All in all, Jack was content with how he was healing. "It won't be the first time I've gotten a scar out of an injury," Jack said, grinning up at him.
Hiccup grinned back, though his was mixed with relief. "Well, everyone knows that every good story has to come with some kind of scar," he joked, causing Jack to laugh.
"I'm surprised that's not your village's motto, in all honestly," the winter spirit said.
"I think it's our unofficial motto," Hiccup told him, eyes twinkling. "I don't think I need to wrap your arm up again. What do you think?" he asked, wanting Jack's opinion since Jack did know how his body worked better than Hiccup did.
Jack shrugged. "It should be fine unbandaged," he told him. "Though it would be better if the sleeve was still intact. Sorry about that, by the way," Jack said with a small wince.
"Don't apologise. It wasn't like you planned on getting hit by dragon fire," Hiccup told him. "Toothless! Come here for a moment, bud," he called, causing Jack and Glacialaurora to flinch at the sudden rise in volume. "Sorry," Hiccup apologised, guilt flaring in the face of the abused dragon's reaction.
"It's okay," Jack said, glancing up at Glacialaurora to smile reassuringly at him. "Loud noises are something we'll be working on soon," he said as Toothless bounded over to the boys. "Hey, T," Jack greeted happily, getting a happy gurgle in response and Toothless rubbing the side of his face against Jack's, almost pushing the white-haired spirit over with his affectionate gesture.
"Settle down, Toothless," Hiccup laughed, rifling through his saddlebag and pulling out the shirt Baby Tooth had used as a nest when she'd been in the saddlebag. "Here," he said, giving the shirt to Jack, "wear this until you either go home or I get that one mended," Hiccup said.
"Are you sure?" Jack couldn't help but ask. Mending shirts wouldn't be a priority of many villagers for a while yet so Hiccup would be left without a spare shirt for a while.
"Yeah, it's fine," Hiccup assured him. Jack seemed to believe him because he accepted the shirt and quickly changed out of the ruined one and into the spare one before he handed the ruined shirt over to Hiccup, who quickly placed it in Toothless' saddlebag so the dragon could go back to playing with Baby Tooth. "Are you going to be okay down here by yourself?" Hiccup asked Jack, who nodded.
"I won't be by myself," the spirit pointed out, gesturing to the Alphas and Baby Tooth, "and I'll be fine. Glacialaurora and I are gonna keep working together and with the other dragons who've been freed from Drago," he said.
"Where are those dragons?" Hiccup asked, looking around. He was certain he hadn't seen them when he and Toothless had flown over but now that he was looking, there were recent signs that multiple dragons had been in the area. "I would've thought they'd be here," he added.
"They were," Jack told him. "They headed into the village early this morning so that they could get the last of their armour removed and any help they need before they come back here," he explained. Hiccup made an 'ah' noise of understanding and Jack moved the conversation along. "What's happening with the village?" he asked.
Hiccup leaned back onto his hands and shrugged. "Right now the biggest challenge is removing all of the ice," he told the spirit. "The dragons are helping a lot with that since their fire can melt the ice down fairly easily. Once the ice is gone, Dad's gonna start us on rebuilding the destroyed buildings. Most of the public buildings like the forge and stockroom survived intact – which means we don't have to worry about doing a lot of hunting to refill our supplies – but because it was mainly homes destroyed, it means we've got a lot of homeless Vikings to deal with. Thankfully, most of the villagers whose homes did survive intact have opened their doors up but it's not a permanent solution so Dad want that dealt with first," Hiccup explained. "A few of the villagers will be exempt from helping with the rebuilding because they'll be tasking with fishing since we have a lot more dragons to be feeding for the time being than we normally do," he said.
"Tell your friend that I will help with the fishing and that I'll also feed the dragons under my protection so your village doesn't need to worry about them," Frostfire offered immediately and Jack passed the message along to Hiccup.
"Thank you for your generous offer. I'll let my father know of it and will tell you his response when I come to see you two and Jack again later today," Hiccup told him. Baby Tooth let out an offended squeak and Hiccup immediately amended his words. "And to make sure Jack isn't causing Baby Tooth too much stress and worry," he said, this time getting an offended scoff from Jack.
"You say that as if your history of reckless and stupid ideas isn't almost as long as mine and I've got three centuries on you!" Jack said, pushing at Hiccup, who laughed and rocked with the movement.
"Yeah, yeah," Hiccup chuckled, straightening up and sighing, amusement still etched on his face. "You keep telling yourself that," he teased, getting an eyeroll from Jack, Toothless, and Baby Tooth at the same time. Looking up at the sky, Hiccup groaned when he saw that it was just about time for his father to head into the village. At Jack's confused look, Hiccup explained, "I'm gonna have to get going. Dad and maybe Mum will be in the village by now and I did promise I'd help out with the rebuilding for today."
Jack nodded in understanding. "Did you speak to your dad yesterday?" he asked curiously.
"No, thankfully," Hiccup sighed. "By the time I left here and got back into the village, Dad was giving out tasks to the villagers. Once he spotted me, he told me that I'd be joining the other dragon riders in assisting with getting rid of the ice and carting the logs some of the villagers will be cutting down today to be used to rebuild," he explained. "Once he told me that, I joined Astrid and the others and started following them to get started on our tasks. I stayed busy for the whole day and was genuinely exhausted by the time Toothless and I got back home. I was dead to the world by the time Mum and Dad got back to the house," Hiccup said.
"So you're gonna talk to him today?" Jack asked and Hiccup gave a nod.
"Yeah, hopefully Mum and Dad will have some time between their tasks so we can all go somewhere and get this conversation over and done with," Hiccup said. He didn't look excited by the prospect but Jack knew that he knew how important it was to have this conversation once and for all. "What's your plan for the day?" Hiccup asked.
Jack hummed for a moment. "Well, I'm going to be working with Glacialaurora today but I wouldn't be opposed to company throughout the day, especially if Frostfire is going to head out to find somewhere to build a new haven for himself and his dragons," Jack told him. "Maybe if you, Toothless, and your dragon riders come for a visit later? As long as Glacialaurora is okay with it," he added, looking up at the massive dragon.
"I think that that would be okay," Glacialaurora rumbled quietly. "I should meet them all soon since you won't be here forever to stay with me," he said and Jack gave him a beaming smile.
"I'll be here with you for however long I'm on Berk for but I'm really proud of you for agreeing to meet the other dragon riders and their dragons," Jack told him, letting his pride flow through their bond so the Alpha could feel it.
"I'll let the others know but I will make sure I bring you something for lunch and I will have at least spoken to my father about Frostfire's offer," Hiccup said, giving Glacialaurora a smile of his own.
"I'll see you then," Jack said, watching Hiccup climb to his feet. Once the dragon rider was up, Jack waved his staff over the still frozen snow that had been packed against his injury and took away the frost that was holding it all together so it would melt in the sun later that day. "Thanks for bringing me breakfast and checking on the burn and for giving me your extra shirt," Jack said, smiling up at Hiccup before growling in annoyance when the brunette's response was to take advantage of the significant height difference to ruffle Jack's white locks.
"You're welcome," Hiccup said, laughing at Jack's annoyed expression. Toothless had noticed his rider getting up and correctly knew it meant that they were about to leave so he and Baby Tooth headed over to the pair.
Toothless gave Hiccup a berating look before he nudged Jack's face, getting the hug from the winter spirit he was after. "At least someone around here knows how to give proper affection," Jack said, scowling playfully at Hiccup, who rolled his eyes at his pleased, smug dragon and at what Jack had said.
"You just wait until he decides to try and lick you like he does me," Hiccup chuckled.
"He would never do that since he knows his saliva wouldn't stick to me like it does you," Jack informed him, scratching Toothless under the chin and getting a delighted rumble from the dragon.
"Lucky you," Hiccup said before he gestured at Toothless. "Come on, bud. We really do have to go," he said, giving Toothless a sympathetic but unmoved look at the disappointed groan he let out. "I don't want to either but we've gotta help the village and I have to face my father so let's get going," he said firmly.
Toothless huffed and bumped against Jack before he headed for Hiccup and let his rider get into his saddle. "See you later today," Jack said. Baby Tooth, now perched on Jack's head, raised one of her hands in a goodbye wave and echoed Jack with a chirp of her own. "Good luck with your dad," Jack added, getting a grateful look from Hiccup.
"Will do," Hiccup said, "and thanks. I think I'll need it," he said with a small chuckle.
"You'll be fine," Jack said confidently and Hiccup gave him a smile.
"At least one of us thinks so." Toothless gave Hiccup an encouraging coo that had him laughingly correcting himself. "Two of us," he said, patting Toothless. "Have fun," Hiccup said, giving Jack a wave that the winter spirit returned before he and Toothless took off, forcing Jack to use the wind to buffer the sand they'd sent flying before it could cover them. Glancing down at the shrinking figures of Jack, Frostfire, and Glacialaurora, Hiccup let out a shaky breath before he steeled himself for what he was planning to do today. It was time he and his father sat down and had a proper conversation about his becoming chief and how he felt about the situation.
Hiccup had done what he'd promised Frostfire and Jack he would and passed along Frostfire's offer to scare up some fish for the fishermen and to keep the dragons under his protection fed rather than have them relying on the village. Stoick had been thankful for the first part of the offer but made Hiccup promise that he would tell Frostfire that his dragons would still be welcomed to eat at Berk if they wanted to, whether he fed them or not. Hiccup had almost groaned in annoyance when his father got a familiar look in his eyes – the one that told Hiccup he was about to be asked to do some training – but Stoick had been cut off by Astrid turning up and telling Hiccup they needed him and Toothless to help with a particularly thick bit of ice. Hiccup had taken the opportunity to escape his father with both hands and was basically in the air with Toothless before Stoick could say anything.
Helping Astrid and the others with the ice by using Toothless' plasma blasts to chip away at it while Meatlug and other Gronckles used their lava to melt the thicker parts down so other dragons could break them, Hiccup managed to avoid his father for most of the morning until his mother turned up with Cloudjumper and told him that she and Stoick wanted to speak with him. Knowing his mother was on his side in this matter was the only thing that had Hiccup agreeing to follow her rather than fleeing to the furthest point of the world he could. Telling the other riders he'd be back later, Hiccup had Toothless join Cloudjumper in the air and the four of them flew towards their home, where Skullcrusher was resting in his usual spot, telling Hiccup his father would be inside.
Taking in a steadying breath, Hiccup climbed off of Toothless' saddle and switched his leg over to his walking one. Valka gave him an encouraging smile before she led the way inside, holding the door for Hiccup and Toothless to walk through, not giving her son the chance to try and back out. Stoick was sitting at the table with some of their dried boar hanging over the firepit in the loungeroom, steadily bubbling away in a thick stew that would likely wind up being their dinner. In front of his father, however, was a large chicken waiting for them to share with some sliced bread on the side.
At their entrance, Stoick looked around and smiled lovingly at Valka before he gave Hiccup a beaming grin. "Your mother says that you want to speak with me about something serious," he said, a giddy tone in his voice that had Hiccup wincing.
"Stoick," Valka said warningly, moving to sit next to her husband and resting a hand on his large forearm. "You promised you wouldn't jump to any conclusions," she chided him gently and Stoick gave her a sheepish look.
"Aye, that I did. Sorry, dear," the chief apologised before he looked at Hiccup and gestured for him to sit down, which he did. Toothless was sticking next to him for moral support and Hiccup appreciated it. "What did you want to talk about, son?" his father asked.
Hiccup breathed in deeply before deciding to rip the bandage off. "I don't want to be chief," he told his father, who looked stunned. "Not right now," he clarified. "I don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility yet and I don't think the village needs me in charge of it while you're still able to be the chief," he told him.
"Hiccup, we've talked about this," Stoick said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "You're ready – more than ready! – to become Berk's next chief," he told him. "I know it seems a bit scary. I know I was nervous when my father decided to hand to title over to me just before he was killed – Odin rest his soul – but once I found my rhythm, I was completely fine! And you won't be doing this by yourself, son. You'll have me, your mother, Gobber, the other advisors, and the rest of the village there to support you," Stoick said.
"I know I would but, Dad, I don't want to be chief right now. I'm not sure I'll want to be chief in a year's time!" Hiccup exclaimed. "There's so many things that you do – the speeches, sorting out conflicts, that sort of stuff that I'm just no good at and I don't think I'll be ready for that sort of thing for a while," he explained.
Valka injected herself into the conversation at this point before Stoick could insist that Hiccup was definitely ready for all of this. "Listen to your son, Stoick," she beseeched. "He's telling you he's not ready to be chief and you insisting he is isn't helping matters," she informed him.
Stoick growled lowly. "This is why I wanted you around here so you could receive lessons about taking over my duties, Hiccup! Instead, you and the others went gallivanting all over the Archipelago, chasing after undiscovered islands and new dragons. If you'd accepted your duties sooner, you would be feeling as confident in your leading abilities as I am!" Stoick told him, voice tense with anger and annoyance.
"I am confident in my leading abilities," Hiccup argued, "just not with the village," he said. "It's not like I'm becoming chief because you were killed in battle or injured severely enough that you couldn't remain chief. The villagers would accept me as chief with no resistance in that case but not while you're still able to be chief," Hiccup told him. "I don't even know why you want to retire! We both know that you would stay retired for a week at most before you'd be asking me whether I had some things on my schedule that I wanted you to do!" Hiccup exclaimed.
Valka nodded in agreement. "I know I haven't been living with you for twenty years but I'm sure you haven't changed so much in that time that Hiccup would be wrong, Stoick," she told him, a small teasing smile on her face.
Stoick huffed out a small laugh as he nodded. "Aye, I probably would be climbing the walls in a week's time with nothing to do but, son, I'm not going to be around for forever," Stoick told Hiccup, his voice serious. "I don't want you to become chief because I'm no longer here or too injured to be of any use to the village. I want you to become chief while I'm able to help you adjust to the role of being chief and the duties that come with it," Stoick said.
Hiccup looked surprised. "Why didn't you just tell me that that was why you were trying to shove those chief lessons down my throat?" he asked, a touch exasperated. Stoick had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself. "Dad, I'm willing to do the lessons. I'm happy to shadow you for a few hours every other day but," Hiccup said, emphasizing the word so his father didn't say anything, "I'm not agreeing to become chief next month," he told him.
Stoick's eyes flickered with disappointment before he shook his head slightly and gave his son a smile. "That's fine, Hiccup," he told him. "We can do the lessons and shadowing for as long as you need to feel as though you'll be able to run the village yourself," Stoick said. "I won't push you either. You can decide when you're ready to become chief in your own time," Stoick told him.
Hiccup slumped in relief. "Thanks, Dad," he said gratefully.
Stoick nodded as Valka smiled at both of them. "However, that means we will be sitting down and agreeing on when those lessons happen and what days and for how long you'll be with me while I'm out in the village and you will not wriggle your way out of those lessons or days unless you have a very good reason and I do mean a good reason," Stoick warned him. "No making up fake situations to get out of work like you do sometimes to Gobber," he said, eyes glinting knowingly as Hiccup shifted sheepishly.
"Yeah, that's fair," Hiccup said, a small smile on his face. "Did you want to sort out that schedule now?" he asked, kind of hoping he wouldn't and was happy when Stoick shook his head.
"No, we won't bother until the village is back on its feet," Stoick told him as he turned his attention to the roasted chicken in front of him. "Are you the one taking Jack something to eat for lunch?" Stoick asked as started pulling the chicken apart, placing pieces onto plates for each of them, a fourth set out for Jack.
"Yeah, I am," Hiccup told him. "I doubt he'll be coming home for dinner either so I'll probably be taking something for him tonight as well. He's pretty focused on helping Glacialaurora recover while he's still here," Hiccup explained.
"He thinks he's done that task he was sent here to do?" Stoick asked, having caught how his son had worded the part about Glacialaurora.
Hiccup shrugged, accepting the plate from his father as Toothless went off to find some fish for his own lunch. "He doesn't know but he's of the opinion that it must've had something to do with Drago. We both don't think it's a coincidence he was sent here with just enough time to get to know us before Drago became known to Berk," Hiccup told Stoick. His father seemed to think over what Hiccup had said before he nodded, handing his son a bit of bread. "Thanks," Hiccup said before he started eating, hungry after a hard morning's work and the nerves churning in his stomach at the idea of having a proper conversation about becoming chief with his father.
Stoick nodded at him as he handed Valka her own lunch, which she took with a thanks. "Remind him that he still has a bed here for him if he wants to use it," Stoick requested and Hiccup gave a nod. It seemed that now Hiccup had spoken to Stoick about what he wanted to and Stoick had asked what he needed to in regard to Jack, Stoick's next topic choice was Hiccup's movements for that morning. "How are you and your dragon riders going with your tasks around the village? Is there anything you need additional support with or anything you've noticed that I haven't assigned people to do?" Stoick asked, looking over as Hiccup as he ate a bite of his chicken.
Hiccup considered for a few moments as he chewed and swallowed his mouthful of food. "I haven't noticed anything yet but I'll let you know if I do," Hiccup said, getting a nod from Stoick in thanks. "As for how we're going, we've made good progress with some of the thicker spikes of ice. Meatlug and the other Gronckles' lava…"
"You know," Astrid said from where she sat near Fishlegs and Hiccup. Jack and the other dragon riders looked over at her to see what she was going to say. "I think you should get some training lessons in while you're still here," she said, looking directly at Jack. "Drago almost caught you by surprise and while I know you're immortal, you could've been seriously hurt if the Alphas hadn't taken Drago down first," she told him, a noticeable amount of worry in her voice.
Hiccup had run into the rest of the dragon riders on his way to deliver Jack his lunch, having finished his own with his parents only a few minutes earlier. It was revealed later in the lunch that another part of the reason why Stoick had wanted Hiccup to take over being chief quickly was because Stoick had noticed in the last few months that he wasn't keeping up with the village as well as he had been at the start of his time as chief. Age was catching up with him and Stoick didn't want the village to suffer because he was too stubborn to admit it so he'd decided to follow the plan he'd told Valka about when Hiccup had been born and try to get Hiccup trained up once he'd turned 20. Valka had placed a hand on Stoick's forearm and told him that since she was back, she was willing to resume her duties as the chief's wife and help with running the village so Stoick didn't have as much on him as he normally did.
Hiccup had been surprised, both at the fact that his father had even admitted that and at how grateful his father had seemed at Valka's offer. The conversation had turned from that to something else and shortly afterwards, Stoick had been shoving some food bundled in a cloth into Hiccup's hands and telling him feed Jack before, in his father's words, "the spirit wasted away into nothing". Halfway to the beach where Jack was, Hiccup had spotted the dragon riders and invited them along and all of them had accepted, leading the six of them and Jack sitting in a curved line with both Alphas still on the beach in front of them.
"Well," Jack said, a little stunned at Astrid's words, having not expected that to be what she wanted to bring up, "I appreciate it and I certainly wouldn't turn down training with you guys but Drago never would've touched me," Jack told them.
"He seemed pretty close to doing so," Tuffnut pointed out.
Jack brushed off some of the crumbs that had landed on his shirt as he nodded. "I know he got close but the wind had told me what he was about to do. I had been about to blast him back myself but Frostfire and Glacialaurora had asked me to let the deal with him so I did," Jack revealed.
"But," Fishlegs said, looking confused, "you looked so surprised when they got him," he said and Jack chuckled but not at Fishlegs' words.
"That's because I was," the spirit divulged. "I hadn't expected them to move so quickly. I thought they would need more time, which is why I was raising my staff to intercept his blow rather than pushing him away like I'd planned," he explained. "But these two moved quicker than I thought they could've and got him before he managed to finish swinging at me."
Astrid left out a small huff of realisation. "That explains why you weren't that worried when the villagers tried warning you he was about to attack," she said and Jack nodded.
"It was nice to know they cared enough to warn me though," the spirit said with a small smile. Baby Tooth gave him a happy chirp as she ate the berry Stoick had been thoughtful enough to pack for her with Jack's lunch.
"I told you that their suspicions had all but disappeared once you stopped that avalanche," Hiccup said smugly and getting an eyeroll from Jack.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't let it go to your head," Jack told him, flicking Hiccup's ear and causing him to yelp in surprise. Jack shifted out of the way of his retaliatory strike, laughing at his pout. "So what are you guys gonna do this afternoon?" Jack asked before stopping them from answering by asking another question immediately. "Do you know when Stoick wants to send the first lot of fishermen out?" he asked, directing this question at Hiccup.
"Not today," Hiccup told him. "All villagers are needed today to get the village closer to the point where we'll start rebuilding it. He probably won't send anyone out until tomorrow at the earliest," he said, a hint of confidence in his voice.
Jack looked up at Frostfire, who blinked in response before he raised his head and low, barely audible hum sounded through the air. The dragons with them looked up in interest but evidently whatever Frostfire was doing had nothing to do with them since they went back to whatever they had been doing. "What's going on?" Fishlegs asked as the sound of hundreds of dragons could be heard coming towards them.
"Frostfire is going to take them all to get something to eat," Jack told them, appearing unconcerned about the noisy din happening overheard. His attention was on Glacialaurora, who looked as though he was trying to stop from hunching in on himself.
Frostfire waited until all of his dragons were overhead before he slid into the water, joining the Seashockers, Thunderdrums, and other water dragons who were under his protection. He disappeared completely under the water, leaving not even a ripple on the surface to betray which way he was going. Everyone bar Hiccup and Jack looked shocked at the Alpha's sudden disappearance, seemingly surprised at how easily the dragon had moved and sunk beneath the surface. Glacialaurora seemed to be contemplating something and after a few moments, asked Jack for his opinion.
"Should I find some dinner for my dragons?" Glacialaurora asked, voice unsure. "I never had to provide for them while we were under my m- Drago's control. He never focused on the water dragons either so there's none of them under my protection for me to ask to help," he explained.
Jack gave him a proud smile. It had taken a long time and a lot of gentle reminders to have Glacialaurora refer to Drago by his name rather than 'master' since he wasn't under Drago's control any longer and for him to stop saying his dragons were under his 'control' rather than 'protection' since Glacialaurora had no desire to control the dragons but didn't understand what he felt towards them. It had taken another long, somewhat frustrating conversation between himself, Jack, and Frostfire to uncover what it was that Glacialaurora did feel towards his dragons. Jack was delighted that only a day later, Glacialaurora was almost completely out of both those habits.
"You can if you would like to," Jack told him, glancing at Hiccup as he continued speaking, "but I think Berk has enough fish to feed your dragons for a couple of days until they start fishing once more," he said.
Hiccup nodded. "Our supplies were completely full before I left Berk the morning I found Eret and his destroyed fort so there will be plenty of fish to last all of the dragons for quite a few days before we have to start fishing again," Hiccup assured the Alpha. "Of course, we would welcome your help as much as we welcomed Frostfire's when it does come time to start fishing again," he told him.
Glacialaurora nodded and settled his head back on his legs, silently telling them that he was going to allow his dragons to eat Berk's supply of fish for now but Jack knew he was also planning on how he could help Frostfire with bringing in more fish for both their dragons. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Jack asked again, bringing everyone's attention back to the fact that none of them had answered him just yet.
All of the dragon riders looked expectantly at Hiccup, who shook his head with a grin before he turned to Jack. "Well, we're gonna be focusing on the ice mostly but we're also going to splitting up soon to help the village with other tasks since we're making good progress with the ice now that we've figured out the best methods to use to get rid of it," he told the winter spirit. "Astrid and Fishlegs will be…"
Over the next five days, Jack didn't leave the beach for longer than half an hour and he only did so in order to grab his hoodie so he could use it as a pillow since he was sleeping on tree branches again so he could stay near Glacialaurora and so he could help the villagers out quickly with small things like helping with the remaining ice and shifting naturally forming snowstorms to other areas of the island. Aside from those few small moments, Jack had stayed with both Alphas, helping Frostfire heal despite the dragon's protests (which stopped when Jack promised to only do small sessions once a day and only because he wanted to help him heal as much as he could before Father Time turned up, something Jack had been feeling increasingly certain would happen soon) and helping Glacialaurora learn to trust himself, his fellow dragons, and humans again.
When Glacialaurora had asked Frostfire whether he could join him in bringing in some fish for the fishermen after his third day on Berk, Jack had almost burst from the amount of pride in him. He'd gone along with both Alphas at Glacialaurora's request but he'd still been so proud of the Alpha for asking to spend time with his fellow Bewilderbeast and the sea dragons he had under his protection. Jack hadn't helped with herding the fish but he had helped the fishermen haul the fish aboard by asking the wind to give them a hand in lifting the heavy nets. Once they were done for the day – something that didn't take long, much to the fishermen's surprise – Jack had travelled back to the beach on Glacialaurora at his insistence, the first time he'd allowed Jack to do so and Jack had nearly vibrated with happiness the whole way back.
Hiccup had been the one to primarily bring Jack his meals, claiming he wanted to see the process Jack was making with both Alphas with his own eyes but he didn't exactly deny it when Jack accused him of trying to get out of doing some of the more boring jobs around the village. More often than not, he was accompanied by one of the dragon riders and they hung around for as long as they could without risking someone turning up to find out where they were. Glacialaurora had taken a liking to the dragon riders and after spending two days' worth of visits getting to know them, tentatively asked Jack to ask Hiccup whether he thought the other villagers would be willing to meet him since he wanted to apologise to them for what he'd done. Hiccup had assured him that none of the villagers blamed him or wanted an apology but he had promised to tell them that they were welcome to go down to the beach and meet the second Alpha.
Hiccup had obviously done as he'd promised pretty quickly because not even an hour after Hiccup and Toothless had left after bringing Jack some lunch, the kids Jack usually entertained with stories were racing through the forest to join him on the beach. Jack had intercepted them and explained that Glacialaurora was still recovering after some bad things had happened to him at the hands of Drago and wasn't a fan of loud noises still so they needed to be quiet. The children had apologised to the massive dragon and Jack had felt a mixture of amusement and deep sadness at how shocked Glacialaurora was at being apologised too. The dark Alpha had told Jack to tell the kids that they were forgiven, which had led to Jack explaining to the children that he could understand the ice-wielding dragons and why and resigning himself to the fact that the entire village would soon know once the children headed back up there.
The kids had kept them all entertained for most of the afternoon with their stories of what had happened starting from the dragon race that Hiccup, Toothless, and Jack had missed all the way up to when Jack had turned up to stop Glacialaurora from freezing Hiccup and Toothless. As Jack heard about what Hiccup had done to separate Drago and Glacialaurora, he silently vowed to have another talk with Hiccup about what had happened since the dragon rider had neglected to mention that he'd blindfolded his dragon then used his gliding suit despite knowing he had minimal control of his flight path. His irritation with Hiccup wasn't noticed by the children but both Alphas certainly sensed it and were very amused by it, causing Jack to do the mature thing and stick his tongue out at them. The children had seemed confused by his actions but he'd laughed their confusion away and encouraged them to continue telling him and the Alphas the story they'd been recounting.
The children had stayed until Jack had noticed the sun was starting to sink closer to the horizon quickly and sent them home, with much whining and some promises that they could come back if they wanted to another day. A few Vikings had flown down onto the beach shortly after the children had left, having finished with their day's work and having the time to spare to meet the Alphas. The dragons they'd flown down to the beach on had bowed respectfully to Frostfire immediately before they considered Glacialaurora for a few moments. Whatever they'd been looking for, they'd obviously found it since they soon bowed to him as well. There was some surprise when Jack had acted as Glacialaurora's translator but the villagers had accepted his explanation for his ability with minimal fuss and had engaged both Alphas in a quick conversation before they'd excused themselves so they could get back to the village.
Those Vikings had barely lifted off when more arrived and Jack found himself going through the same motions as he had just minutes before with these Vikings. Several more groups – no bigger than five Vikings and dragons at a time – rotated for the rest of the evening and Jack had known the children had reached the village when the second last group of Vikings didn't react to Jack passing on messages from Glacialaurora or Frostfire. When the last group had left, Jack and the dragons were left in peace until the sun had disappeared over the horizon. In the last dregs of daylight, Hiccup and Toothless had turned up, Jack's dinner in Hiccup's hands. Jack had waited until his friends had made themselves comfortable, Baby Tooth coming out from where she'd been hiding on Frostfire when the children had arrived, before he asked Hiccup when the brunette had planned on telling him what he'd done to get Drago off of Glacialaurora. He'd laughed at Hiccup's stunned face and told him that he'd found out from the children, causing Hiccup to let out a couple of curses before he offered a sheepish apology that Jack had ended up waving away. The fact that he'd dismissed the apology didn't mean Jack wasn't going to follow through on his vow to lecture Hiccup and the brunette has sunken slightly when he'd realised that.
The visits from random Vikings had continued over the next two days until Jack was certain that he and the Alphas had officially met every single one who called Berk home. Eret had also come down to meet the Alphas, flying in on a dragon of his very own and proudly introduced Jack to Swordslash, the purple and proud-looking Deadly Nadder that Astrid had helped him train in her spare time over the last four days since the village had been attacked. Their bond was only brand-new but had all the promises of being as strong as any other rider and their dragon and Eret seemed to be happy with living in Berk for the rest of his days, something Stoick had offered the man soon after Jack and the Alphas had moved to the beach. Eret had stayed for longer than most the others had but mainly because he had questions about Jack that most of the villagers knew the answers too already. Jack had entertained him and Swordslash with his tales and powers, using a large rock that Jack had used as something to rest against to create his frost animals, much to the delight of Swordslash and intrigue of the two Alphas.
Both Alphas' dragons had taken to roosting around them on the beach and in the forest, taking over most of the forest as both groups tried to stay close to their Alpha. They'd usually be gone during the day in order to explore Berk as a whole or to head back into the village to help out the villager's who'd accepted them but from the moment the sun had sunken below the horizon until an hour after it had arisen, the dragons were with Jack and the Alphas. Jack had done his best the first night to try and hide his nervousness about being surrounded by fire-breathing dragons but both Alphas had sensed it easily through their bonds with him. Jack had managed to sleep that first night but had awoken to three dragons sleeping as close as they possibly could to him without their inner fire causing him problems. Jack had been surprised that these wild dragons had wanted to be so close to him and neither Alpha offered an explanation for him but after that moment, Jack had started to relax around them. Now, five days after they'd all settled on Berk, Jack found himself giving the dragons who came up to him scratches and pats before they settled in for the night.
As Jack lay back on the sand, head on his hoodie-turned-pillow and Baby Tooth breathing softly next to his ear, he felt himself relax as contentment washed through him. The two Alphas were still sleeping on the beach, though Frostfire had found a small, abandoned island that would be perfect for him to start turning into another haven for himself and his dragon earlier that day. Hiccup had been told and asked to let Valka know on behalf of Frostfire. The brunette had also been asked to extend an invitation to Valka to join Frostfire in creating the haven if she wanted to the next day. Glacialaurora had been making plans of mimicking Frostfire and finding somewhere close to Berk that he could set up as a safe haven for his own dragons, somewhere that no dragon or human could attack or try to control them in again. Jack had been the one to suggest that Glacialaurora go with Frostfire to see what the older Bewilderbeast would do to create his haven and Frostfire had told both Jack and Glacialaurora that he thought it was a good idea and would be happy to have his fellow Alpha along for the day. Glacialaurora had promised to think about it overnight but Jack had felt how happy he was that Frostfire wanted him to accompany him and knew that the two Alphas would be busy tomorrow with building Frostfire's new haven.
"What are you thinking about?" Glacialaurora asked Jack as was his habit most nights, intrigued by the thoughts running through the winter spirit's mind.
Jack smiled softly up at the night sky filled with the beautiful sight of twinkling stars and faraway galaxies as he answered the Alpha's question. "Just thinking about the last five days we've spent here on Berk," he told him, softly enough to not wake the sleeping fairy or the dragons around him but loud enough for the Alpha to hear him.
Glacialaurora hummed in his mind. "What about them?" he asked curiously.
Jack kept his eyes on the night sky, drinking in the sight. "Just about how proud I am of how far you've come during them," he said honestly. Glacialaurora didn't answer him but Jack could feel the dragon's version of a blush through their bond and it made his smile widen. The feeling on contentment was now mixed with pride and it didn't fade in the slightest before Jack fell asleep to the sounds of Baby Tooth, the wild and freed dragons, and the Alphas breathing and the water softly lapping at the shore.
A/N - Second last chapter for you guys! I can't wait to hear what you guys think to this one :D thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, btw! I was super thrilled to get those and am looking forward to your reviews on this one :D Only one more chapter to go and this crossover will be finished! See you all next week!