=Normal POV=
(Sunnudagr, Goi; Midday)
(Berk; Village)

It was still surprising to see Hiccup yesterday morning looking the way he did. Hiccup had grown taller and remained skinny, but he still had some muscle. Also, the armor set was interesting too. Everyone wondered a lot about how Hiccup survived two years in the woods by himself, but it didn't seem Hiccup was up to talking because as soon as he exchanged some words with his father; he returned to the cove to get some sleep, claiming that he hadn't the night before due to the raid. Hiccup said he forgave everyone for how he was treated, but there were still some lingering feelings of resentment that stirred within Hiccup. It showed when Hiccup returned to the village a little after midday, and he didn't want to talk to anyone. Everyone was still shocked that Hiccup stated he wanted to stay in the cove instead of returning to the village.

Thankfully, there was no raid through the night; it meant Hiccup could get a good night's sleep and recover some from all the work he'd been doing as Drage Riddari. Hiccup didn't just help Berk; he helped all the islands and had been doing this job long enough to know which places would be attacked on what nights. Hiccup couldn't help everyone; there was only one of him and sixteen islands. In addition to that; there were only seven days a week. Hiccup knew he couldn't do everything, but he had to try. This is why locating the source of the raids and defeating it was so crucial. Today, there was a Chieftain meeting; there was one every year to discuss the raids. Stoick had completely forgotten about it and to mention something to Hiccup.

The Chieftains had arrived earlier that morning and settled on having the meeting during lunch since it had been a long trip for some. That time had come, and Stoick wasn't sure where Hiccup was; Stoick sent Gobber to retrieve Hiccup that earlier, but Gobber stated that Hiccup wasn't there and must have been off hunting.

"Where is your son, Chief Stoick? He's of age to attend the meetings," stated the man to his left.

"My apologies, Chief Mogadon; Hiccup must have forgotten. You know how he is…I'm sure he's in the cove," Stoick sighed.

"So he survived his banishment?" retorted another leader who sat down at the table a bit.

"Yes, Madguts; he did. I lifted the punishment yesterday; he's done well for himself," Stoick informed.

"The cove…That is below Raven Point, yes?" asked one of two female Chieftains in the room.

"Yes, Chieftess Bertha," Stoick nodded. "It's not a far walk, and I guess that's where Hiccup set up during his temporary banishment. I have not been there yet,"

"If the punishment is over, why is he still there?" inquired another male leader.

"Hiccup claims he put a lot of work into his living situation over two years and didn't want to leave, so I let him continue to live there, Chief Cuyler," Stoick mentioned.

"Why don't we go there then? I'm sure Hiccup just forgot about the meeting," stated another female ruler.

"Yes, that might be a good idea, Chieftess Magnilda," Stoick agreed. "Come," he stood from his seat. The Chieftains and their Heirs got up and followed Stoick out of the Great Hall and up the hill more, heading for the forest.

. . .

(Berk; The Cove)

Hiccup was in the middle of training when Toothless suddenly lifted his head and looked towards the entrance of the cove.

"Hiccup…People are coming," Toothless informed. Hiccup stopped and narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Hide in the cave, bud," Hiccup replied to him. Toothless nodded, getting up and taking refuge in Hiccup's house, but going farther back into the cave that the house was built off of. I still can't get over the fact Toothless, and I can talk! Hiccup thought with a small smile. It was something else that happened in the two years Hiccup was banished. After the defeat of the first raid source, Hiccup was gravely wounded, and Toothless took Hiccup to Berserker Island where Hiccup met the Bewilderbeast after recovering from his wounds. Hiccup learned the Bewilderbeast was an Alpha species of dragon, capable of controlling a lot of dragons with just a stare from his eyes.

The Bewilderbeast saved Hiccup, and in that, Hiccup gained some inhuman abilities. Talking to dragons was one of them. Along with that; Hiccup had enhanced sight, hearing, smell, and strength. Hiccup's eye could change to slits when he was mad, and he held the slight ability to make the dragons listen to him. Hiccup could emit a sound that caused the dragons to listen; he used his staff to do this, but it could be achieved with his sword or roar; this was along the same lines of what the Bewilderbeast could do, only Hiccup's was temporary and not nearly as strong as the King of Dragons. Hiccup spent months training his abilities and have mastered them. It was one more thing he had to be careful of in the presence of other humans.

"Hiccup!" Stoick's voice called. Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked up to see his father, and the other Chieftains with their Heirs.

"What are you doing here, Dad?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, good; you are here. Gobber said you weren't this morning," Stoick smiled as he climbed down carefully and looked around. "I can see why you like it here,"

"Not much, but works for me," Hiccup shrugged. "And I was off hunting," he added. "So…Why are you here? And why did you bring them?" he inquired.

"There's, uh, a meeting today. And you're eighteen now, so you attend them with me, remember?" Stoick said, hinting that he'd forgotten to tell Hiccup yesterday.

"Right, right. Sorry, Dad. I get sidetracked easily," Hiccup informed, playing along. Hiccup set his sword in its sheath on his back. "Come on, back to the village then," he said.

"Well, we're already here, and this seems like a big enough space to do things…" remarked one of the Chiefs. Hiccup recognized him; he was Dagur of the Berserker Tribe and someone who always got joy out of giving him a hard time.

"Do you…Mind, son?" Stoick asked.

"Is this going to take all day? I have things to do," Hiccup wondered.

"It shouldn't…" Stoick shook his head.

"Fine, but I'm not stopping what I'm doing to sit and talk. These gatherings are only to talk about dragons and updates with each Tribe…" Hiccup stated. "This place doesn't run itself. You'll have to sit on rocks or logs, or just the ground. Sorry, unprepared for a large gathering sit-down," he shrugged before heading into his house.

"I don't remember him being so…Well, like that," informed a Chief who was on Stoick's left now.

"Hiccup isn't exactly happy with the rest of the Tribe or me right now," Stoick sighed. "We haven't been the best to him," he admitted.

"That's such an understatement," Hiccup claimed, stepping out of the house with a few things on a flat piece of wood where metal covered the top part. Hiccup moved over towards the fire pet where he had a large metal container hanging from a hook over the flames, Hiccup took the cover off and dumped everything on the tray he was holding into the pot. Hiccup stirred it and recovered the top.

"That smells good, what are you making?" asked Bertha, who Hiccup knew was the Chieftess of the Bog-Burglar Tribe.

"Soup…" Hiccup said, unsure why he had to say something, wasn't it obvious to them? "Just…Go about your meeting. When it's done; I'll share…I know you haven't eaten yet," he added. "I'll still be listening," After a momentary pause, the meeting started as Hiccup continued his work around the cove while hearing everything they were saying. Hiccup did know who everyone was, despite being banished for two years; things hadn't changed much other than the fact the Heirs were present because they were of age to do so.

There were sixteen islands that held sixteen Tribes. One of them was Berk with the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, and Stoick was the Chief while Hiccup, is the Heir. Mogadon Meatsen was the Chief of the Meathead Tribe on Meathead Isle, and Thuggory was his Heir. Berserker Island was run by Oswald Bazirk, but he disappeared some time ago, so his son, Dagur Bazirk took over when the Berserker Tribe needed a Chief. The next current Heir was his little sister, Heather unless Dagur got married and had a child. Bertha Boggs was Chieftess of the Bog-Burglar Tribe on the Bog-Burglar Islands, and her Heir is her daughter, Camicazi Boggs. Also, the Bog-Burglar was an all-female Tribe; men were not welcome there other than the purpose of producing more females.

Madguts Axall was the Chief of the Murderous Tribe in the Murderous Mountains, another island that sat Northwest of Berk. Madgut's son was Soren Axall, and he also had a second Heir, his niece, Signy Ostberg, whose parents were killed when she was very young. Erland Vinter is the Chief of the Shivering Warriors Tribe on the Shivering Shores Island, and he has a daughter, Gala. Magnilda Ramirson is the Chieftess of Bashem, recently taken over after marrying and taking over; she already has an Heir, Mikkel, but he's too young to attend, so she brings her husband, Reidar, who is considered a second in command.

Magnus Eldur is the Chief of the Visithug Tribe on Visithug Isle, and his son is Magnor. Chief Henrik Anderson runs the Quiet Lifes Tribe on Quiet Island, and he has several children, but the oldest is Britta, able to attend meetings. Norbert Heift is the Chief of the Hysterics Tribe on Hysteria Island, and he has two children; Natalie and Syver. It seemed Natalie was present today because Syver wasn't quite old enough. Elvar Trapp the First was Chief of the Wave Rider Tribe in the Waterlands, and his son is Eret the Second; they specialized in Dragon Trapping. Alvin Ogglebert was Chief of the Outcast Tribe on Outcast Island; he has one son; Oivind. UG, no idea about the last name, is the Chief of the Uglithugs Tribe on Uglithug Isle, he has a daughter, Tantrum. Gunner Falk is Chief of the Lava-Louts on Lava-Lout Isle; he has a daughter, Ragna.

Chief Cuyler Grayson of the Peaceables in Peaceable Country brought his daughter, Brenna with him. And finally, Viggo Grimborn is Chief of the Dragon Hunter Tribe on Hunter Island; he has two Heir's from different women because his first wife passed away, and a niece. Brynjar, Katja, and his niece from his older brother, Ryker, is Vera. It appeared Brynjar and Ryker had both come to the meeting. Hiccup hated that he knew so much when it didn't interest him, but he was good at listening when no one thought he was around, so it was easy to pick things up.

Hiccup didn't pay much attention to the meeting; it was mostly about the dragon raids, and of course, Drage Riddari. As Hiccup already knew, none of the leaders liked that guy, which happened to be him. There was more talk about trying to locate the nest, which Hiccup also knew was pointless because he'd already found and dealt with back when he was sixteen. Hiccup battled Red Death with Toothless, winning, and temporarily stopping the raids until this new source came alone. Either way, the nest was just a home for dragons now, and they lived there peacefully among one another.

Hiccup checked the food after a bit and saw that it was done; he started separating portions into decent-sized bowls and setting them onto trays to carry over to where the group sat; he made sure to include a spoon as well. Hiccup began passing them out before taking a seat to enjoy his food; he'd made sure that Toothless got his lunch too; thank the Gods that he was hidden and Hiccup could sneak into the cave without being seen.

"This is very good, Hiccup. I can see that you didn't inherit your mother's inability to cook," Stoick laughed a little.

"It's not hard to cook soup…I don't know how someone could mess it up…" Hiccup stated.

"Still, it's tasty," Heather Bazirk smiled.

"Thanks, I guess," Hiccup replied. "All homegrown," he motioned to the small farm bit in the cove; things were growing, and there was even livestock behind a fence.

"I have to know, son…How did you manage all this?" Stoick wondered. "Some of the things you couldn't have gotten without coming into the village…Were you sneaking in at night?"

"No, and you need not worry how I did this," Hiccup informed. "As instructed, Dad; I learned to survive," he added a bit coldly.

"I'd love to know how you avoided raids…" Eret stated. "I mean…There isn't much of a defense system here…"

"Didn't need one. The dragons don't come here often. Is this meeting over yet?" Hiccup asked after finishing his food.

"Almost, son. There are just a few more things to discuss, why don't you join us? It's Tribe updates; you should be part of it," Stoick offered.

"Unless they affect me directly, I don't think I need to worry," Hiccup remarked. "Now, let's finish this meeting so I can go about my day; I have a million other things I could be doing, and you're interfering with all this nonsense that has no bearing on me. Dragons aren't a problem for me, so a meeting about how to stop them has no place for me in it," he added.

No one said anything after what they say; it did seem Hiccup had things, for him at least, under control. "Well, this next bit is about you for Berk, son," Stoick mentioned.

"Do go on," Hiccup invited.

"Well, you're eighteen now…And I mentioned yesterday that you'd be starting your Chieftain training," Stoick continued.

"Uh-huh…" Hiccup said.

"Well…There is a requirement you have to meet before becoming Chief…You have to get married," Stoick informed.

"I figured as much," Hiccup nodded. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it,"

"The thing is…I already set things up, f-for you to get married to someone," Stoick hesitated as Hiccup's eyes began to grow serious now.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"You're…Already arranged to be married, son. I-I did it years ago…" Stoick went on.

"What…" Hiccup said again; this one was more of a what did you do statement.

"Lad, what you're father means is that you've been arranged to marry someone since you were about twelve years old. And the agreement of the marital contract is about to hit in a month, where you will be married," Gobber explained.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" he yelled now.