=Hiccup's POV=
(Sunnudagr, Einmanudur; Early Morning)
(Berk; The Village)
The roaring of dragons awoke me from my slumber. I'd gone to bed fairly early because I knew it was happening, Sharpshot alerted me when I quickly visited Toothless that there would be raids tonight. I had returned from Hysteria a few hours before, but I'd been all around the Archipelago since last night. I remember sneaking out shortly after Brenna had come to sleep. I needed to make sure she wouldn't question why I was up and where I was going. I hurried to the cove, changed into my Drage Riddari outfit, grabbed Toothless and we were off to begin what was sure to be a long night. I'd just gotten to sleep a few hours ago, and now the raid was happening on Berk. I needed to put an end to this; I couldn't keep sneaking off into the night. It was killing my sleep schedule to be up all night flying around, then come back to Berk, sleep a bit, and have to function all day.
People were starting to get suspicious about why I always looked like I hadn't slept at all. Things might get easier with the Chieftains leaving today since the wedding was over and whatnot. My main duties for the day were to do Chieftain training with dad, but that was it. I did spend time with Brenna, and I helped Gobber in the forge. Other than that; my day was quiet. Chiefing was easy; I knew most of the job already, and I think dad was going to start letting me lead soon. For a few hours a day, to see if I could do it. However, right now; that wasn't a matter of great importance. I needed to find the source of these raids and put an end to it before my dad made me permanent Chief of the Hooligans. I would never have a free moment if I became Chief before it was handled. I was running short on time.
For now, though; I had to stop this raid. It had been a long night, but if I didn't keep up on this stuff, then I stood no chance at getting the Chieftains to back off. Brenna and I quickly hurried out to find Stoick, the Tribe, and the Chieftains with their Heirs outside the house.
"Uh?" I started. "Why are we all outside the house?"
"It was your idea to let Drage Riddari run the next raid here, so…What do we do? He's not here. You wanna take a whack at stopping this?" Gobber inquired.
"Just…Keep your weapons down. Let me get a few things that might help. It might take a bit; I have no idea where I put all the stuff I used to use to train dragons…Remember what I told you; if you are calm, so will they be. Most of the time; they are just curious. Let them sniff you, offer a fish or two…Be kind. I'll be right back, and Drage happens to show up…Let him do his thing," I rolled my eyes as he went back into the house. I was gathering a few things when I heard them talking.
"Well, at least he's calm about raids…" Brenna giggled.
"Isn't it Stoick's job to lead these things?" Snotlout mentioned.
"But Hiccup is the one with the dragon training experience, so we decided to let him run this," Gobber rolled his eyes.
"Isn't it a little weird that Hiccup was first to defend Drage?" Astrid pointed out.
"Perhaps it is, but Hiccup did provide another reason Drage Riddari could be doing these things. We'll have to hope Drage shows, and we can talk to him," Stoick stated. I shook my head and finished grabbing my things before sneaking out the back door and heading for the cove to meet Toothless.
"Come on, bud," I called him while slipping on the final pieces of my suit. Toothless charged into sight as I pulled my helmet on and jumped on Toothless's back. "Let's do this,"
"You got it," Toothless replied with a gummy grin.
=Normal POV=
Coming around the corner with the group of dragons, I knew I was spotted. "There he is!" someone shouted, pointing.
And here we go. Hiccup sighed.
"Hiccup! Hiccup, he's here!" Brenna called into the house. Hiccup just watched from above; at this rate, he would get discovered. It wasn't that hard to figure out. Hiccup goes in the house, Drage shows up. Drage leaves, Hiccup returns.
"Let's try to get this one over with fast, Toothless," Hiccup stated.
"Should we jump right into the roar or do you want to flaming sword them?" Toothless inquired.
"The roar might be more effective," Hiccup replied.
"What about your control?" Toothless suggested.
"Not sure it will work, pal. I'm exhausted, and it doesn't last as long as Icefire," Hiccup reminded.
"It's worth a shot, Hiccup. They'll be looking for you if we take too long," Toothless remarked.
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, that's true too…They're already getting suspicious,"
"Drage Riddari! We want to talk to you!" Stoick yelled.
"Oh, boy…" Hiccup rolled his eyes. Ending the raid was his first and foremost duty as Drage, so that needed to happen. Hiccup directed Toothless down to the ground but didn't land right away. A few people backed up at how close the Night Fury was to them. "I don't believe we have anything to discuss," Hiccup stated in a monotone voice.
"Please, Mr. Riddari…We want this to stop, and perhaps us being allies could make that want a reality," Brenna stepped forward now as Hiccup looked at her intently. "You aren't leading these attacks, are you? You're trying to stop them. My husband believes that; he's the Heir to this Tribe. Please, just talk to us…Or him. He'll be right out. He can befriend dragons as you can. Maybe we can help each other?"
"At least she gets it," Toothless chuckled a little as Hiccup glared at him.
"Shut it, Toothless," Hiccup said. Thankfully, with the mask on; the others couldn't hear his normal voice. "As for the rest of this situat-," he started, turning his attention back to the group before him. A purple Deadly Nadder with a white underbelly and red eyes zipped in, heading for Brenna. Hiccup's eyes widened as he jumped off Toothless's back and quickly pushed Brenna out of the way.
Brenna's eyes locked on Drage's; she saw familiar green eyes. Hiccup? She thought instantly.
"Hiccup, Nadder incoming!" Toothless roared at him. Hiccup broke eye contact with Brenna, he quickly turned and instinctively pushed Brenna behind him protectively.
"Stay behind me," Hiccup stated firmly. The Nadder flew towards the large group of Vikings; Hiccup put both of his hands out, his wrists connecting, but his hands were curved a bit as if they were going to join up, but didn't. There was a spark between them before a ball of fire formed, and Hiccup launched his arms out as the ball smacked the Nadder in the forehead. Instantly, the Deadly Nadder snarled at Drage and went to charge. Hiccup's eyes narrowed now as he put his hand out. "Enough!" he demanded as the Nadder stopped in its tracks. "You will cease your attempt, or face the fury of the Dragon Master,"
The Nadder stepped back, almost bowing its head to him before turning and flying off. "Roar time?" Toothless asked. Hiccup nodded as Toothless came beside him; the two faced the dragons overhead. Seconds later; Toothless and Drage let out a deafening roar throughout the area. The dragons stopped as Hiccup waved his hand in an outward fashion; the dragons quickly dispersed and flew out of sight.
Hiccup stepped forward a bit, getting on Toothless's back. "Wait, don't leave!" Heather said.
"My work is done," Hiccup replied to them.
"We want to talk to you," Mogadon stated.
"There's nothing to talk about. I come in, I do my thing, and I leave," Hiccup remarked.
"You aren't leading these raids, are you?" Brenna asked softly. Hiccup looked at her again. "If nothing else, can you at least tell us that?"
"No, I'm not," Hiccup responded.
"Who is? We can help," Stoick stepped up now.
"This is not your battle to fight," Hiccup informed.
"Those dragons attack us!" Madguts yelled.
"I do not allow this to happen, so you need not worry yourselves," Hiccup said.
"Why won't you show us who you are?" Dagur asked. Hiccup paused a moment.
"If you knew who I was; you would become targets to my enemy to use against me," Hiccup stated truthfully.
"Are you one of us?" Astrid glared.
"I am just someone who wants to see peace," Hiccup looked towards them. "I can't see that through if both sides continue to fight,"
"Will we ever get to see who you are?" Brenna tried now.
"In due time," Hiccup patted Toothless left side. "All things will come to light when the time is right. For now, all you need to know about me is that I am here to protect you and the dragons. So if you could stop trying to shoot me down while I keep the dragons from attacking your villages; I'd appreciate it. It is not their doing; they are being forced by something I am trying to locate and put an end to. So all you need to do is stay out of my way, and things can run as smoothly as they did just now. Is that sufficient information for the time being?" he asked.
"Not what we hoped for, but it will do," Stoick nodded.
"Good. Time to return to base, bud; I'm exhausted. We've been up all night…Berk makes it five total for raids we stopped tonight…" Hiccup said to Toothless.
"You're telling me," Toothless grumbled. Without another word; Toothless darted into the sky leaving the others entirely shocked that Drage even spoke to them. Once out of sight, of course, Toothless rebounded and headed for the cove to set down. Hiccup climbed off and removed his mask, beginning to take off the suit next. "You going to be alright for the day?"
"I'll muddle through," Hiccup replied as he shoved his stuff in a bag. Hiccup got out a notebook and marked the raids of tonight down to continue keeping the schedule. Hiccup knew he needed to find the source of these raids; this was becoming too much for him to handle on his own. Hiccup got Toothless a full basket of fish, and Toothless dragged it off into the cave where he hid out while Hiccup was in the village. Toothless came back out and nuzzled against Toothless.
"Take it easy, Hiccup," Toothless told him.
"I will, bud. See ya tonight," Hiccup yawned. Toothless returned to the cave as Hiccup made his way back to the house, sneaking in.
"Where the hell was your boy, Stoick?" Ryker Grimborn inquired. Hiccup instantly set up his cover story, knowing he'd be asked. Hiccup laid down on the floor, sprawled out as if he fell there with a few things around him. "He said he'd come help, and never came out of the house,"
Brenna quickly went inside, seeing Hiccup lying down and looking unconscious. "Oh, my Gods! Hiccup…Hiccup, are you alright?" she rushed to his side to check on him. This alerted Stoick and Gobber to come in as well; the rest were just watching. Hiccup groaned a bit, opening his eyes slowly to see everyone around.
"W-What happened?" Hiccup asked.
"You came in here to get a few things, and never came out. I found you unconscious…" Brenna said softly, with concern. Hiccup sat up, then hissed as he held his head. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I-I think I was rushing to get back out and hit my head. Everything goes blank after that," Hiccup lied convincingly.
"You need to rest, lad. Let him get a bit of sleep, Stoick. He probably should be trying to do much until he's recovered," Gobber said. Stoick nodded.
"Right. Go on and sleep Hiccup. Brenna can take care of you, and we'll do Chieftain training later on or tomorrow," Stoick agreed.
Thank the Gods! They bought it… Hiccup thought as he nodded, not arguing with his father. Gobber helped Hiccup up as Brenna led him to the couch to lie down on. Brenna covered Hiccup up with a blanket. "Thanks," Hiccup said to her. Brenna smiled.
"No problem," Brenna replied, kissing his forehead. "Rest now; I'll be around the house if you need anything," Hiccup nodded to her, closing his eyes and letting sleep take him shortly after.
"And I think we should have a quick meeting about the information gathered today about Drage before the rest of us leave," Viggo Grimborn informed.
"Aye, I agree," Stoick nodded. Soon after, the Chieftains and Heirs left. Brenna was alone with Hiccup; she began cleaning up the house while wondering about those green eyes belonging to Drage, and Hiccup.