I neither own nor claim any rights to How To Train Your Dragon...
Author's Note:
This is part one of a two-part "what if?" story.
I had a thought about what might have played out had Hiccup changed his mind about telling Stoick the truth. We saw a change in Hiccup when he stood there with confidence and determination to protect "his pet dragon" as Astrid referred to Toothless. So what if he approached Stoick from a position of confidence an wisdom rather than his typical sarcasm and posturing? I've been working on this off and on for a while now. The main points of it flowed out of my mind like a flood, but the finer points took a lot longer, and I just added them as I read and reread what I wrote. I'm now satisfied enough with it that I am ready to share it with you all. So, let us get to it, shall we?
THE TRUTH
(Part One)
Hiccup lay awake, fully clothed under a blanket, staring up at the ceiling. Earlier that evening, he and Astrid had discovered the dragons' nest, deep within the volcanic fog of Helheim's Gate. More important than that, they had discovered why the dragons raided them in the first place. And tomorrow, he was expected to kill a monstrous nightmare in front of the whole village. He couldn't... No... He wouldn't do that.
Astrid was right. He needed to tell his father the truth. Berk needed to change, and training a dragon in secret was not going to help make that happen. In order for Berk to change, his father would have to change first. It was a risk, but what was the alternative? Keep on pretending? Leave his father and his people in the dark about the true enemy driving innocent creatures to kill and steal against their will? No. It had to stop.
He threw off the fur blanket and made his way downstairs. His father was there, sitting in his chair and poking the embers in the firepit, causing a fresh log to catch fire. The flickering orange glow cast ominous shadows on the walls, reminding him momentarily of the inside of that horrible volcano, the memory of that poor Gronkle being eaten alive by that monster strengthening his resolve.
"Dad," he said, startling his father a little.
"Ah, Hiccup," Stoick responded with a knowing look in his eye. "Tomorrow's events keeping you awake?"
Hiccup sighed. "I guess you could say that I've got my mind on the future," he said gravely.
Stoick frowned. Something in hiccup's tone concerned him. He looked at his son's face in the firelight, and there was no trace of the boy's usual joviality. In fact, he remembered that expression on his own face, seen in a mirror the day his father died and he became chief. Something was going on with his son, and it was serious. He knew that this was a time that he needed to listen. "what is it, son?"
"Before I go any further, I need you to swear by Odin that you will listen to what I have to say, and let me show you what I need to show you before you make any judgments. The future of Berk, possibly this entire archipelego, may depend on it."
Stoick's eyes widened. Not at Hiccup's words, but the way he spoke them. His was the tone of a leader, with confidence and resolve. This was what he had been hoping for. It didn't matter that Hiccup wasn't built like him. The boy had his mother's small form. And she got it from her own father and he from his father, who came to be known in his late years as 'Old Wrinkly,' And Berk had never been graced with a council member who was more wise. Old Wrinkly spoke with the same tone he had just heard from his son. And the weight of the words scared Stoick deeply. "By Odin, I swear."
Hiccup relaxed a bit, though his tone remained just as grave. "A terrible mistake has been made, and it's been going on for over three hundred years. In all that time, we've trained new generations of dragon fighters strictly with the knowledge of how dragons kill. How they can be killed. My experiences in dragon training have made me wonder whether or not anyone ever bothered to learn how they live."
Stoick opened his mouth as if to answer, but he had just sworn by Odin's name that he would not interrupt. He wasn't sure where his son would be going with this, but he did know of one person who did study dragons like that.
"We've been fighting a war against dragons for three hundred years," Hiccup continued. "And yet we are no closer to winning that war." He shook his head. "We've gotten really good at fighting them. They've killed hundreds of us, but we've killed thousands of them. They're like ants."
Stoick had never heard anyone ever compare flying, fire breathing dragons to ants. It was ridiculous. But Hiccup still had that grave expression on his face, and his confident tone had yet to waver.
"Think about it, Dad." Hiccup said, meeting Stoick's gaze unflinchingly. "They come in numbers, grab food, and return with it to... Wherever they come from." he shook his head. "Other animals also steal food. But if we kill them, or run them off enough, they stop coming. But not dragons. Like ants, they keep coming. No matter how many we kill, they keep coming."
Stoick shrugged. He did see what Hiccup was saying, and he had to admit that he would never have thought about it like this on his own.
"It can't be stubbornness issues," hiccup said. "That would imply that they think like us, and we can't have that. It can't be out of a thirst for revenge for the same reason. If it was about revenge, they could all come in force and kill us all. They would have won the war a long time ago."
This got Stoick's attention. Dragons always went for the kill. Dragons were all bloodthirsty, mindless killers. And hiccup was right, the war had continued without end, with no hint of victory for either side in sight. Both sides had been doing the same exact thing the whole time. Nothing changed.
"They don't have a choice." Hiccup stated flatly. "Like ants, something at their nest is making them gather food and bring it back."
Stoick's eyes widened.
"It's the only thing that makes sense," Hiccup continued. "They continue to raid us, even though it costs them their lives. We continue to kill them, though there's no sign that it does any good, and some of us die, too." He looked his father directly in the eyes. "For generations we have been doing the same thing but expecting a different result. And I don't know of a single person who has ever even tried to understand the problem from any other perspective. Do you?"
Hiccup had asked him a question, so the oath he had given in Odin's name would still be held if he were to speak. His son was deeply troubled, but in the way any strong leader would be when facing situations as dire as this war against dragons that has lasted for centuries. He was looking at things from every possible angle, Something Old Wrinkly once advised him to do. And he was seeking information. "There has been one person that I know of who did not just seek to fight and kill dragons. One who was crazy enough to go into the wild to learn as much as he could about dragons. Bork, who wrote the book of dragons. The chief of the time tried to stop him, but he had Haddock blood in him. And you know what that means."
Hiccup nodded. "Stubbornness issues."
Now Stoick nodded. "He nearly died while on his expedition, but he came back with a wealth of information. Not just about their weaknesses and strengths, but their eating habbits, where they liked to live. How they relate to each other. And even how they raise their young."
Hiccup jaw clenched. Some of the things he had recently learned had been documented and submitted to a Chief of Berk, long ago, and it was not taught. He wanted to confront Stoick about it, but he didn't see a way to do so without starting an argument. The war could be ended soon, if only the truth could be shown. And then he had an idea. "What did Bork say about the dragons' eating habbits?"
Stoick chuckled. "He said that most species preferred to eat fish. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Hiccup wasn't laughing. "Don't forget the oath you swore dad. Because I'm about to come to the point."
The smile left Stoick's face. He had a feeling he was not going to like what he was about to hear, but so far, Hiccup had not said anything that wasn't reinforced by statements he could refute. "You have my attention."
"Bork was telling the truth," Hiccup said. "Left to their own resources, dragons will choose fish over any other food source. Hasn't anyone noticed that when they raid us, the only thing they eat on the spot is the fish we stockpile. They just carry off the other stuff."
Was this true? Stoick tried to think of a time when he had actually seen a dragon actually eat the yaks or sheep they took. But he couldn't. Come to think of it, he had never actually seen a dragon eat a person. He'd seen them tear people apart with tooth and claw, leaving mangled remains that often couldn't be identified. And he knew from horrifying personal experience that dragons occasionallyt carried people away like the rest of what they made off with in raids. However, he had personally witnessed dragons eating the fish right off the curing racks.
"Because I did," Hiccup said. "I've learned a lot since I went into dragon training. Tell me... Did Bork ever say anything about dragons and eels?"
Stoick thought back to when he had read Bork's notes, after becoming chief. "Just that dragons avoid Eel Island. Bork was glad about that because he hated eels, and couldn't stand the taste of them, so he avoided the place too."
"Dragons are afraid of eels." Hiccup stated. He saw his father's eyes narrow. "Don't believe me? next time you fight a dragon, carry an eel with you and let the dragon see it. In fact, try to offer it to him and see if he doesn't fall all over himself trying to run away."
Stoick looked at Hiccup closely to see if there was any sign that he was joking. There was just the expression of confidence, like he knew what he was talking about. Not that he intended to put it to the test. What kind of viking would he look like if he went running through the streets chasing dragons with eels. People would want to tie him to a mast and ship him off for having gone mad, and he knew it.
"I know that look, Dad," Hiccup said. "And yeah, I know it sounds crazy. But remember the stories Trader Johan told about... what did he call them? Ephelants?"
Stoick chuckled. "Elephants" he corrected
"Right. That was it. Anyway," he cleared his throat. "Johan told us that they were massive, strong and ferocious creatures when provoked, and yet they would go savagely insane with fear if they saw a tiny mouse. And there are some vikings who, while being brave and lethal on the battlefield, actually shreak in fear if they see a spider crawling across the floor."
He saw where Hiccup was going with this. Animals and people both occasionally exhibited irrational fear of things, and by that reasoning, he supposed dragons could, too.
"If we are going to end this war we've been fighting for centuries," Hiccup said "then we need to fight it a completely different way."
This statement rubbed Stoick the wrong way. It almost sounded like Hiccup was questioning his methods. But at the same time, his son's earlier words about doing the same thing but expecting different results made too much sense . He looked at his son and realized the he was looking back at him expectantly. "And I suppose you have some idea about that 'different way'?"
Hiccup squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. "The same way I've been winning at dragon training." He looked into the flames in the firepit. "The same way I'm going to defeat the monstrous nightmare tomorrow." With determination, he met his father's gaze. "Without even injuring it."
To say that Stoick was shocked would be an understatement. Had this been the Hiccup he had left behind when he set sail on the most recent voyage to find the nest, he would have exploded in rage. But he was not looking into the eyes of a weak, insecure boy. He was looking into the eyes of one with confidence and wisdom. Gobber could not explain how Hiccup had managed to succeed at challenge after challenge, without so much as putting a scrtch on any of the dragons, and not receiving a scrstch in return. Whatever methods Hiccup was using, they clearly worked. "How can you defeat a monstrous nightmare without injuring it?"
"The village will hear and see everything tomorrow. But I have something that I must show you tonight. and if you keep your oath in Odin's name, I promise you that after I show you, I will explain to you how we will end the war."
The way Hiccup had brought up the oath again told Stoick that whatever he was going to show him was not somehing he was going to like seeing. But Stoick would never break an oath made in Odin's name. And he had to admit, he was intrigued. "Well, let's see it then."
Hiccup smiled. "Leave your axe and your helmet here, and follow me." He moved towards the door.
That bothered Stoick. "Not going to happen, son." he said in a tone that brooked no argument. "If we're going out into the night, there are any number of dangers that we may face."
With his hand on the latch, Hiccup turned back to his father. "It's an occupational hazzard." He opened the door and stepped out into the night.
"Thor in a thunderstorm," grumbled Stoick, as he followed his son out the door, his helmet and axe left behind. Part of him was saying that doing so was foolish, but the rest of him was reliving his own youth, when he, Spitelout and Alvin would sneak out at night and go into the woods to hunt at night, knowing good and well they would catch Hel if they got caught. But even then they had weapons. But seeing Hiccup's determination, and the way he now carried himself encouraged him to throw caution to the wind.
They had indeed left the village and headed into the woods. Hiccup carried a lantern he had procured from the supply shack at the edge of town as he made his way carefully along the path he had been following for days.
Stoick was also carrying one of those lanterns. And he followed Hiccup who seemed to have no doubt as to where he was going. "Where are we going, exactly," he asked.
"Raven Point," Hiccup answered, not breaking stride.
"I haven't been there at night since that time when you were seven, and we went camping," Stoick said, smiling fondly.
Hiccup snorted. "And then I stepped in a hole, sprained my ankle, and you had to carry me back home," he said.
Stoick stopped in his tracks for a moment. That had been the straw that broke the yak's back. He had stopped trying to take his son fishing, or hiking, or camping after that. There was always something to ruin the moment. Either Hiccup would hurt himself, or he would go off looking for trolls. That is where the estrangement between them had started. But it had been because he, Stoick, had lost patience. It wasn't really Hiccup's fault. Valka was gone, carried off by a dragon, and he was left to raise their son alone. He never got over his loss, and he had shouldered the burden of being Chief and a father with nobody to help him. And between raids from dragons and other tribes, the total stress he was under had snapped, and in some ways he hadn't just nearly given up on Hiccup. He actually had. Oh he took care of the boy, meaning he provided food, shelter and discipline. But he had ceased to feel. Duty was his sole purpose, and in retrospect, he could now see why Hiccup had begun going out of his way to make his mark in all the wrong places.
"Dad?" came Hiccup's concerned voice.
Stoick had realized that he had just been standing there staring as the past had come back to haunt him. It must have taken Hiccup a moment to realize that he had stopped following. There was that mature, wizened look on his son's face again, etched with worry. It reminded him of one of his own father's worried expressions. It made him realize that Hiccup was no longer a child. Tomorrow, after he defeats the monstrous nightmare, he would be a man. A true Viking. And all those missed opportunities Stoick had during his son's childhood would be gone forever. Very few things brought tears to Stoick's eyes, but this cold hard truth he was facing qualified. "I'm so sorry, son," he said, fighting to maintain his composure. "For everything."
Hiccup paused for a moment, clearly taken aback by his father's words. Stoick the Vast never apologized. This gave him hope that the truth he was about to reveal might take root, and that he and his father could end the war against the dragons forever. He had to respond. He swallowed hard. "It's okay, Dad," he said. "I am, too."
It took a while to reach Raven Point in the dark, and by the time they arrived the early morning light was breaking through the clouds. Stoick was tired, but Hiccup seemed to be full of energy. The Chief looked around the area and did a double-take as his eyes rested on a tree that had bent over all the way to the ground, its trunk cracked nearly in two. He had seen trees felled by lightning, but that clearly is not what happened here. "What in the name of Loki's shifty left eye did that?"
Hiccup sighed. It was time. "That would be the Night Fury I shot down the night of the last raid."
Stoick looked around the area carefully. Where the tree ended, there was a deep groove ripped into the ground, where something heavy had slid or rolled at great speed, up and over a small incline. Hiccup had been telling the truth, and he had not listened. He was about to ask why he hadn't shown him this befoore, but really, there wasn't much of an opportunity. When he had gotten home from the meeting about his planned expedition to find the nest, and the subsequent conversation with Gobber about putting his son in dragon training, Hiccup was not there. He had no mind to go looking for him. He had to pack and set his affairs in order just in case. Hiccup hadn't gotten home until very late, and it would only be a few hours before the ships would set sail. There was just enough time for the deal they made for Hiccup to let go of his flights of fantasy and become a Viking. Then he was off. He had only gotten back yesterday, and the Night Fury had not been brought up in that awkward conversation in the back room at the forge. But they were here together, now. "You killed the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, and you want to show me the remains, is that it?" he inquired, his face beaming with pride.
Hiccup sighed. "It got away, but got trapped in this cove that isn't too far from here." He turned to continue the journey, but Stoick grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop.
"Now, wait a minute," Stoick said. "Are you telling me that there is a Night Fury... Alive... Here on Berk?" Anger was beginning to creep into his voice.
Hiccup yanked his arm out of Stoick's hand. He crossed his arms and fixed his father with a disapproving scowl, hopefully the same scowl he had seen on the man's face, directed at him more times than he could count.
Stoick ws about to demand that his son not look at him in that tone of voice, but then he remembered the oath he had made, and now finally understood why Hiccup had asked him to make it. Indeed, he was not liking what was now coming to light.
"Tree limbs ripped off his left tailfin." Hiccup explained. "He was trapped in the cove, unable to fly out." he reached inside his tunic and withdrew a sheet of paper, and handed it to his father.
Stoick took the paper and looked at it carefully. "Thor's Hammer," he said. "You drew what the devil looks like?"
Hiccup nodded. "Look how streamlined he is. And the wing shape. And those side fins."
Stoick looked closely at the drawing. He had seen many dragons. None remotely looked like this. It had front and hind legs, the shape of witch reminded him of a cat or a wolf. The shape of the body and wings and side fins made one thing very clear to Stoick. "This dragon is built for speed."
Hiccup nodded. "Take away a tail fin and he's downed, with no hope of getting back in the air."
"Why have you kept this a secret? We could have some warriors out here to kill the beast." Stoick was fighting a battle against anger and confusion, and losing to genuine curiosity.
"Lot's of reasons," Hiccup said, without missing a beat. "The most important one is that I saw an opportunity to learn something no other Viking had ever had a chance to learn. After all, a downed dragon might as well be a dead dragon, right?"
Stoick closed his eyes, a smile slowly spreading on his bearded face, "You studied this thing, didn't you?" He opened his eyes and looked directly into Hiccup's
"I did," Hiccup stated, again not flinching from his father's intense gaze.
"What you learned somehow showed you how you could pass your challenges in dragon training," Stoick declared.
"It did." Confirmed Hiccup
Did that make Hiccup a cheater? Stoick thought about it. No... Hiccup fought just like the others, only his weapon of choice was his mind. And it was more effective than sword or axe or mace. "Tell me more," he said.
Hiccup shook his head. "There's nothing more to tell. I need to Show you."
"You confronted the devil face-to-face," Stoick said as full realization dawned on him. "The things you did in training... Gobber said you did them within reach of your hand. Do you realize how stupidly dangerous that was? You could have been killed."
"It's an occupational hazzard," Hiccup said, for the second time in a matter of a few hours.
Stoick opened his mouth to argue the point, but snappeed it shut. Hiccup was right. As stupid or dangerous as it had been, the boy had demonstrated more courage than he had seen from most Vikings. The dragon had not killed him. That which does not kill us makes us strong, he thought. He couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm impressed, Hiccup."
"So what do you say, Dad," Hiccup responded. "Are you ready to meet the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself?"
"Absolutely," he said. Hiccup bade him follow again, and he did. As they approached a crevace with a shield wedged at the end, Stoick remembered that he had left his axe back at the house. He watched with horror as his son, also unarmed, slipped under the shield. The gap was too low for him to fit through. Without effort, he pulled the shield free and carried it with him.
Hiccup had quickly walked on into the cove, not waiting for Stoick. And then there it was straight ahead, curled up with its back to them, clearly sleeping.
"Toothless," Hiccup called. "I'm back!"
Toothless, thought Stoick. He had never heard of a dragon that didn't have teeth. Maybe it was some sort of insult, though the friendly tone Hiccup used made it almost sound like a name of affection. What was going on here?
The dragon snapped to its feet and turned to face Hiccup. Its eyes widened and it charged. And Hiccup ran stright at it, arms open wide.
Stoick's jaw dropped. Was his son about to hug the beast?
The dragon leaped and knocked Hiccup on his back.
NO! Stoick shouted in his mind, unable to form words. He ran at the night fury as he watched its wide mouth come down at his helpless son's face. He raised the shield, ready to bash the black demon in the head with it, but stopped short as he heard... LAUGHTER... from Hiccup, and then he realized that the dragon wasn't biting the boy, but was licking him furously, tongue lapping out of a mouth that, amazingly, really did have no teeth.
Never in his life had he ever seen a dragon behave like that.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew from behind Stoick, carrying his scent towards the dragon. In immediate response, the Night Fury's head snapped in his direction, the wide, playful eyes turning to slits, and sharp teeth snapped out of its gums. The dragon advnced on Stoick.
Hiccup got to his feet quickly and observed the situation. He almost panicked when he saw the shield in his father's hands, held high and ready to bash. "Dad," he called out. "Don't move."
Stoick watched the way the dragon moved. Stalking. Like a true predator. And he realized that all it had to do was leap, and he was dead. If he turned and ran, it would end the same way.
"Lower the shield and hold it out to him, Dad," commanded Hiccup calmly but firmly. "He sees you as a threat at the moment. You need to change that perception."
The dragon had stopped advancing, and had crouched down, ready to pounce. Stoick marveled at the fact that it was holding its position, waiting to see what he was going to do. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to keep ready to defend himself, but that confident and commanding tone from his son won out. Hiccup had clearly been working with this creature long enough to know what to suggest to handle it. He slowly brought the shield down, and the dragon growled. He held it out flat to the black beast, watching as it inched forward and tentatively took it out of his hands, quickly tossing it aside.
Hiccup had made it over to his father's side. "Now you need to show him that you are not his enemy."
Stoick did not take his eyes off the dragon. "But I am its enemy, Hiccup."
"Not any more." Hiccup stated flatly. "I'm going to explain how you and I are going to end the dragon war once and for all. But at the moment, you are in serious danger."
As if to reinforce that statement, the dragon bared its teeth at Stoick, growling menacingly.
Stoick swallowed. "What do I do?"
"You are about to earn his trust by showing yours." Hiccup stated.
"You expect me to trust that thing?" Stoick demanded darkly.
"Eventually," Hiccup ansered. "But for right now, you only need to trust me, and do exactly as I say. If you do, he will not threaten you again, and he will likely try to defend you with his own life."
This was madness. And treason. His own son had thrown his lot in with the enemy. Hadn't he? Or had he simply learned how to control the drgon he had shot down. He needed answers, but he wasn't going to get them unless he played along. "What do I do," he asked again, stealing a glance at his son by his side, standing like a teacher explaining something to his student.
"Slowly, reach out your hand, palm outward towards him." Hiccup said slowly and calmly.
Stoick hesitated. If Hiccup was wrong, he could be missing an arm in a moment. Licking his lips nervously, he extended his hand. Amazingly, the dragon stopped growling and its teeth retracted. It continued to stare at him, though. "What now?"
Hiccup breathed in and out slowly. "Now, turn your head away and close your eyes."
"Are you insane?" Stoick said in a dangerous tone. The dragon's teeth remained retracted, but it growled again.
"That's debatable," Hiccup answered, again in that calm tone. "But either way, you need to trust me here, Dad. You're almost there."
That last sentence was spoken in a tone of encouragement, as to a child who had almost learned to take its first steps without falling. Throwing caution to the wind, he did as Hiccup said. A few moments passed like an eternity, and then he felt warm, soft scales resting against his palm. Stoick looked back at the dragon. The night Fury's eyes were closed, and there was a gentle rumbling in its throat that sounded like. No. It couldn't be. "Hiccup, am I hearing a dragon... Purring?"
Hiccup smiled. "Yep."
The dragon pulled back, opening its eyes. Its pupils were wide and friendly-looking. It looked back and forth between Stoick and Hiccup a few times, snorted, then turned away and ambled over to a patch of dirt, blasted it with a jet of white fire, turned around a few times like a dog, and then laid down, but continued to watch Hiccup and Stoick.
"Congratulations, Dad," said hiccup. "two adversaries in this war were just now removed from the battlefield, and nobody had to die, or even get hurt for it to happen."
Stoick was looking at the hand he had allowed the dragon to nuzzle. "That was..." he didn't have the words to finish.
"I know," Hiccup responded. "Pretty amazing, right?"
Stoick was still torn over the issue. Every argument he had ever had with Valka over continuing to fight and kill dragons seemed to be trying to play back in his mind all at once. She tried so hard to convince him. She even tried to show him once, but he had refused to listen, and had refused to see. Now here was his son, whom had proven himself in dragon training, and had become so confident and authoritative in the short time Stoick had been away hunting for the nest. "Have we truly been so wrong?" The words were out of his mouth before he had even realizd he was speaking them. Aside from the dragon, there was nobody else here. Nobody to put on a chiefly show for. This was just him, and his heir, whom had clearly learned more than how to hold his own against dragons. So many had died, generation after generation, and with just a gesture of trust at Hiccups direction, he, Stoick the Vast, whom had sworn to rid the world of this scourge had actually been nuzzled by the beast. A dragon will always go for the kill. But this one did not.
"I am afraid so, Dad," Hiccup said.
"How can you be so sure?" Stoick demanded.
"The dragons kill in self defense only, or if someone comes between them and the food they have no choice to take." There was that matter-of-fact, absolute certainty in Hiccup's tone again.
"How do you know this for sure, son," Stoick asked. The look in Hiccup's eyes, for the first time since tonight's conversation and journey of discovery had begun, reflected sheer terror. Suddenly, Stoick felt like ice was forming in his heart. Just as suddenly, it dawned on him where the source of terror came from. "Great Odin's Ghost... You've seen the nest, haven't you."
The look in Hiccup's eyes was now as hard and cold as steel. "I have,"
Stoick closed his eyes. So many questions began to arise in his mind, and if this had been the same irresponsible, sarcastic and insecure Hiccup he had left behind a few days ago to search for the nest, he would demand answers to all of them. But at this moment, based on what had already been said, and what had just happened with the Night Fury, only one question mattered. "What did you learn?"
And Hiccup told him everything. How he had restored the Night Fury's flight, but the new fin only worked with someone in control of it. He fully explained how Astrid had followed him to the cove and learned about Toothless. How he had kidnapped her to keep her from running to tell the village.
"You kidnapped Astrid Hofferson?" Stoick said with an expression of shocked humor.
"She had to see, Dad," Hiccup responded, head bowed in shame. "I needed to make sure she understood..." He went on to describe the dragon's crazy antics that persistend until Astrid apologized, and how the flight turned amazingly calm after she did.
Stoick found himself closing his eyes as Hiccup described what Berk looked like from the sky at night, and he found himself wishing he could experience it for himself.
"You can," Hiccup said.
Stoick chided himself for speaking his thought out loud. "You can't be serious..."
Hiccup shook his head. "I've never been more serious."
Stoick really wanted to experience flight. And maybe if Hiccup was truly right, and the war could end, he would allow himself the indulgence. "I'm still waiting for you to tell me about the nest."
Hiccup deflated slightly, "Right. We were flying along, minding our own business, when suddenly, Toothless became agitated. He was all tense as if trying to fight against something unpleasant, but helpless to do so. We found ourselves in the middle of a flock of dragons carrying animals in their claws."
Stoick's eyes narrowed. "When was this?'
"Early last evening," Hiccup said without missing a beat.
Stoick sighed. At least it wasn't Berk that was hit that time. "Were there any people being carried?"
Hiccup thought hard about it, just to make sure before answering. "Unless you count Toothless carrying me and Astrid on his back, then no. Just sheep, yaks and large fish..."
Stoick had to ask. "Did you see any dragons with four wings?"
Hiccup knew why his dad asked. His mother ws carried off by one. "No. Just Gronkles, Nadders, Zipplebacks and Nightmares. I didn't even see any other Night Furies."
Stoick shook his head. After all this time, nobody had caught sight of the dragon that carried Val away fourteen years ago. Nobody had even seen another of its species. Even Bork's notes had nothing on it. "Go on."
"We flew into Helheim's Mist, straight to a volcano," Hiccup continnued. "At its core, there was a massive cavern with a pit at the bottom. The dragons were just dropping what they were carrying into it. Dad, they were not eating any of it. They were feeding... Something far worse."
Stoick narrowed his eyes as he once again saw the shadow of terror pass over his son's face, and he shivered.
Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to block out the memory. "A Gronkle..." he swallowed hard. "A Gronkle dropped a small fish down into the pit. There was an earth-shattering roar, and then a massive head came forth. Before I could even process what I was seeing, it snapped the gronkle out of the air."
"So it's bigger than a Monstrous Nightmare..." Stoick stated. Even a Nightmare would have to spend some time eating a Gronkle.
Hiccup suddenly started laughing hysterically.
Stoick was concerned. This wasn't his son's usual sarcastic laugh. And there was not a single sign of mirth in Hiccup's demeanor, This was the sort of laughter that only came to a Viking warrior who knew he was about to die, but was resigned to stand his ground even in the face of unbeatable odds.
"Bigger..." Hiccup breathed as the laughter cut off. "Dad you could pile dozens of Nightmares into a huge mass, and still it won't be enough to equal the size of that head."
Stoick's mouth dropped open, and he looked closely at Hiccup, as their eyes locked. He was not making this up. Stoick had seen that grave look from many seasoned warriors, his own father included. No matter how brave or how stubborn, no Viking was beyond being overwhelmed to the point of utter shock. Some, like Finn Hofferson, who had the reputation of being Berk's most fearless warrior was frozen by fear when he faced the Flightmare years ago. But Hiccup was not freezing. He was standing there with the spine of a chief, ready to fight to the last. Pride swelled within Stoick's heart. But terror grabbed hold of him as Hiccup's words sank in.
"Odin's Beard," he said. "If the head is that big, how big is its body?"
Hiccup could only shake his head. "It started sniffing. It could smell us. Toothless got us out of there and we flew back here. Astrid figured it out. I was thinking the same thing, but she voiced it first. That was the queen. The dragons that have been raiding us are just workers. They raid us because they have to, because if they don't, they become food."
Stoick swallowed, then nodded. "Even if we were to have found the nest, we would never be able to fight that."
Hiccup shook his head. "I don't see how. Not with swords, axes or spears."
"And yet you say you know how to end the war." said Stoick
"We train dragons." Hiccup provided. "We get as many vikings on the backs of as many dragons as possible, and we kill that monster. No queen to send the workers out to raid, and there will be no more raids."
This was unheard of. Never in all his time as chief, or in his father's time as chief, would something like that even be suggested by any viking. And he was sure that it would not have been suggested by any Viking dating back to the founding of Berk, and the first dragon raid in a war that had lasted generations. Stoick opened his mouth, prepared to tell his son exactly that, but the cold expression on Hiccup's face stopped him short.
"I know, Dad," he said. "It's not the Viking way of thinking. But..." He trailed off, trying to think of a way to put it in a way that wouldn't undermine his father's authority.
Stoick could sense the reason behind Hiccup's hesitation. "Go ahead and say what you're thinking, son. You've come this far, and I am still listening." He looked back over to where Toothless lay passively, still watcghing the two humans intently.
"In three hundred years, the Viking way of thinking has not worked. And yet like I said earlier, we keep doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result." Hiccup swallowed hard. "This monster... This Red Death, for want of a better name, is the real enemy. To the dragons and to us. They do it's bidding and steal food because if they don't, they'll become the food. It's about survival. We fight the dragons because if we didn't our livestock will be taken, and because all tribes endure dragon raids, even if we raided them there is no guarantee we'll make off with enough. If we didn't have a treaty with Berserker Island, both tribes would probably have run out of livestock a long time ago. We've been kind of lucky."
Stoick was impressed. Hiccup had been paying attention concerning the treaty with the berserker tribe and the agreement he and Oswald the Agreeable had come to regarding emergency trade following truly disasterous dragon raids. If there managed to be a surplus of building materials or livestock, the latter being least likely, it went to the tribe in need. A similar treaty was attempted with the Outcasts, but Alvin was too proud to seek aid from the tribe that had exiled him. And if he wasn't going to ask for help, he certainly was of no mind to give it. Such were the headaches that Hiccup would be inherriting all too soon.
He had never considered Berk to be lucky in any aftermath of a dragon raid. There was always destruction, and loss of life and limb. But Hiccup had been right. The dragons seldom attacked the people directly, only those who put themselves between them and the food. And yet one had carried his beloved Valka away, to whatever horrible fate awaited her. But then he had never seen that species of dragon before or since. Perhaps it was just more aggressive towards humans, or maybe it had endured cruelty at the hands of humans and sought revenge. He didn't know. And he didn't care. His son was suggesting a course of action that required a response.
Hiccup was right again that Berk had been trying the same thing again and again, with the result remaininbg the same. And they were still no closer to ending the war. Was he also right that doing the completely unviking thing and befriending dragons was the answer? Was he, Stoick, ready to make that concession. Every word Hiccup had spoken had been backed up with undeniable logic, and he had gotten the unholly offspring of lightning and death itself to stand down from killing him., based on the clearly expert advice from Hiccup. He had placed his hand on his most feared nemesis and listened to the creature actually start purring. He would be a fool if he tried to convince himself that nothing had changed after that.
He sighed. "Hiccup... How can you be sure that this night fury isn't an exception to the rule? What if all the rest really are just savage monsters?"
Hiccup smiled. "We will find out in a few hours, now won't we?"
Stoick narrowed his eyes. He remembered what Hiccup had said before. That he would defeat the monstrous nightmare without injuring it.
"I won the right to face the monstrous nightmare, Dad," Hiccup stated. "And I will do exactly that. Not to kill, but to train. Right in front of the whole tribe."
Stoick shook his head fiercely. "Do you not see how dangerous that will be. You could end up dead."
Their eyes met. "Occupational hazzard," they both said at the same time.
Stoick's expression softened. "Alright. I'll see that you get the chance to prove your position to everyone. If we can end this infernal war, I want to be the chief that does it the right way. So nobody else, on either side, has to die at the other's hand or claw."
TO BE CONTINUED...