"Death to the Night Fury!" the crowd shouted, but before anyone could attempt to put down Toothless, Hiccup had pulled out Inferno. As the young man gets out his sword, he ignited the flaming sword. This caused the people of Berk to stop momentarily as they stared at the fiery weapon in pure shock and disbelief. They wondered how Hiccup set his sword on fire like that. "Witchcraft! How did you ignite your sword like that?!" someone in the crowd started yelling after getting over their shock and not understanding how a sword could go in flames like that without using any magic. All the while Toothless is charging up a plasma blast alongside the Light Fury, daring anybody to attempt to attack him and both Strike class dragons would not hesitate in blasting the fools that would try to harm Toothless. Both Eret and Dagur also get their swords out. As both Astrid and Heather pulled out their axes, ready to help Hiccup if the situation calls for it. Astrid's parents, Gobber, Fishlegs, the twins and their parents, Snotlout, and Gothi joined them in defending Hiccup's Night Fury. "You worthless traitors! How dare you betray your kind like this?!" one of the townsfolk hollered at the eight villagers, the two former members, and the rest of the dragon riders.
"I want everyone to shut the fuck up!" Astrid screams as she glared at the crowd. Oh, how irritating it was for the shield-maiden from Berk having to hear the constant yelling and complaining her former people are doing. Immediately the screaming came to a stop because nobody wanted to annoy her even more than they had already done.
"Thanks, Milady," Hiccup thanked Astrid before taking a deep breath. "Witchcraft? Seriously guys? I don't use magic to light my sword. I built a sword that uses both Zippleback gas and Nightmare gel to ignite my blade," Hiccup explained to the crowd as to calm them down as much as possible. One of the last things he needed was for the Berkians to accuse him of witchcraft and go into a full-out riot. Meanwhile, the twins looked at Hiccup with newfound admiration. Both wondered if Hiccup could create weapons like that. They could only imagine the destruction they would do with weapons like that.
"Can you please make us some flame weapons like your sword?" both twins begged with their best puppy dog eyes they could muster towards Hiccup. They never knew that Hiccup was capable of building weapons like that before. Hiccup, along with anyone who resides in Berk, could only shudder at the thought of anyone from the Thorston family with weapons like Inferno.
"Well, I'll think about it," Hiccup responded. He had no intention of making Ruffnut and Tuffnut any weapons that could ignite on fire. The two Thorstons did not need to know that though.
"Sis, can you imagine Macey becoming flaming hot like Hiccup's sword?" Tuffnut asked his sister as he imagined if his most trusted weapon was able to ignite in flames on his command. Those that knew how clingy Tuffnut is with his beloved mace rolled their eyes or laughed at the words he used. The dragon riders are confused with what the male twin said. When Ruffnut notices the bewildered expression on the riders' faces, she decided to explain her brother's obsession with his mace.
"My brother is mesmerized by his mace. To the point where he is so clingy to it." Ruffnut then laughed at all the odd times where she has seen her brother being extremely clingy towards the weapon.
"I ain't clingy with Macey," Tuffnut says defensively. He does not know why his sister thinks that he is clingy with his beloved weapon. He was not clingy with his Macey, is he?
Many of the villagers who are against training dragons snapped out of their shock at Hiccup's sword, started to surround those who agreed to train dragons. And they were not going to be sunshine and rainbows with them. Hiccup, Astrid, Heather, Eret, etc. have their weapons still out and ready to fight if necessary. Before an all-out brawl occurs, Stoick orders loudly, "Everyone stop! We are not fighting and anyone who decides to continue with this disagreement will deal with me! Do I make myself clear?" The Berkians nodded their heads not to anger their chief anymore than he was. Stoick hopes that he could get a heart-to-heart talk with his son after this.
While all this is going down, the Light Fury watched closely, as she was going to defend Toothless from the hostile humans. To her surprise, several people were willing to protect Toothless even at the cost of their lives. The albino dragon recalled what Toothless had told her earlier, "I want to show you that not all humans are cruel and twisted creatures. Some are willing to help us out in our times of need." She also remembered when she was trapped in that hellish ship where she endured torture and Hiccup was the first person that showed her kindness, by giving her the fish that was originally his. The Light Fury knows that Hiccup did not have to do such a thing for her. She also remembered Hiccup standing up for her when the guards realized that she did not have her muzzle on because Hiccup had removed it so she could eat. The auburn-haired man also had given Toothless and her fish, while he swapped Toothless's tailfins knowing that the two dragons would fly together. It was not only Hiccup that showed her that there might be some kind humans. Because she also remembered that the black-haired human female helped her with the wounds she retained on the blasted ship. Toothless might be right. There are kind humans in this crazy world that they lived in. If she could learn anything from this group of humans willing to go against their kind for the life of one dragon. It touched her heart. This group of humans is not diabolical. Or the very least Hiccup has proven to her that he was not a twisted human.
That is when Tuffnut notices a certain hybrid dragon. "This dragon is so cool," Tuffnut compliments the hybrid dragon with wide eyes, thinking of all the destruction he could do using that dragon. The possibilities seem endless.
"You know what would be cooler? Is if this dragon would eat us," Ruffnut added, just as excited as her brother. Fog-Stalker looked at the two strange humans that are suggesting that they wanted to be eaten by her. Just the thought of eating humans made her sick. Did they know the illness that dragons get from eating a human? Not if they are suggesting that she eats them.
"Sorry guys, but we humans aren't good for dragons' digestive systems. Dragons usually only eat fish and small animals. Like, for example, both Deadly Nadder and Deathly Galeslash, which is the species that Fog-Stalker is, eat a diet that contains fish and chicken," Hiccup explains to the twins and whoever else is listening to him. Just hearing that the hybrid dragon and Deadly Nadder eat chicken, Tuffnut dramatically yells while Ruffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs roll their eyes.
"Noooo! They cannot eat the chickens! I forbid them from ever eating chicken again because I am the founder if that is the right word, of CLM." Hiccup, Astrid, Heather, and Dagur looked at each other confused about what "CLM" meant or stood for. Hiccup and Astrid are even more confused about why Tuffnut did not want them to feed Stormfly and Fog-Stalker chicken when they have seen Tuffnut eat the flightless bird too.
"What does CLM even mean?" Dagur asked the male twin.
"Chicken Lives Matter is what it means," Tuffnut responds to which the dragon riders laugh lightheartedly at the male twin's statement. It felt good to laugh during times like these. "Hey?! What's so funny?" Tuffnut asked the laughing riders. Had he said something funny that he did not know about?
"Sorry, Tuff," Hiccup apologizes as he, Astrid, and Heather stop laughing. The last thing he wanted was for Tuffnut to feel like he is being made fun of. Heather to stop her brother from laughing elbows him in the stomach causing him to stop.
"It's okay. I understand, Hiccy," Tuffnut replied. This time the group of young adults lightheartedly laugh at the auburn-haired rider. Hiccup groaned, not amused by that name. The former heir knows that neither of his comrades, friends, or future wife would let this go.
"Anyway, why don't you want us to feed Stormfly and Fog-Stalker chicken, Tuff?" Hiccup asked, wanting to change the subject as to not be laughed at. It was the female twin who would answer his question as she still giggled.
"Ever since he got his pet chicken, Chicken, my dopey brother does not like it when anybody eats chicken around him." The dragon riders laugh at the reveal of Tuffnut's pet chicken being named Chicken. To Astrid and Hiccup, it was the most Tuffnut thing that they ever heard of. It felt good for them to laugh at the silliness of Tuffnut. A few moments later the group of adults had stopped their laughing fit. Shortly after laughing the group had gone their separate ways for the night. This allowed everyone new to training dragons to spend some time with their new scaled friends. Woefully for Hiccup, that also meant he was forced to spend the night in his former childhood home with his father. As the two Haddock men are walking towards the house, they felt the tension as the awkward silence filled the air. Stoick and Hiccup both felt uncomfortable as father and son could not find the words to say to each other. Hiccup walked behind his father and is in between the two Strike class dragons. Stoick wanted to order Hiccup to lock up those dragons in cages where he believed they belonged, but went against it, knowing that it would lead to another argument with his son.
The moment they made it back to the house, Hiccup immediately went upstairs to his former room. The two Fury dragons followed Hiccup closely, neither of them wanting to be around Stoick. But before Hiccup could open the door, Stoick had grabbed Hiccup's hand, preventing him from opening the door. "Hiccup, wait. We are in dire need of a conversation. Please, Hiccup." Stoick normally spoke with a loud and confident voice tone but as he pleads with his son his voice was as soft as it had ever been. He figured that he must try a wholly innovative approach with his son. And he believes that talking to Hiccup in a softer tone would ease his nervous son's anxiety. The chief knows that his son would try to avoid the needed conversation, so he figured that he would be the one to start this heart-to-heart with Hiccup.
"Alrighty then, Dad. What did you want to talk about?" Hiccup replied as he quickly decided to at the very least hear what his father had to say. He just hopes that his father would not make him regret giving him this chance at speaking to him.
"I was wondering if you could take those dragons outside before we start," Stoick answers wanting to call Toothless and Light Fury "demons" but decides against it because he knows that insulting those two dragons would not help him get on Hiccup's good side. Hiccup, Toothless, and the Light Fury had noticed the way Stoick said "dragons" like he spat out raw meat from his mouth. Both dragons growled towards Stoick, but Hiccup had gotten between the dragons and his father hoping to prevent a fight to break loose.
"Dad, Toothless likes to sleep close to me. I'm not too sure about the Light Fury, but if I had to guess, she may want to be close to Toothless. I promise you that they wouldn't cause any trouble. And by chance that they do cause a mess, I'll clean up the mess without anyone else's help whatsoever," Hiccup promises his father. Toothless had always liked to sleep in close range of Hiccup. The auburn-haired man theorizes that Toothless likes watching over him while he was asleep to make sure his best friend is safe, especially after the whole Johann had attempted to assassinate Hiccup. Ever since then, Toothless had been sleeping much closer to his rider. The gesture had been uplifting for Hiccup's worried heart.
"Fine. Remember that if either one of them causes problems, they'll be caged up like animals. Understand?" Stoick responded, shocked that he agreed to have dragons stay inside his home. But he knows that he must play by Hiccup's rules for the time being. Unfortunately, for Stoick that meant having his sworn enemies in his house.
"Yes, Dad. I understand you," Hiccup says as he opens the door to his childhood room so the dragons could enter. Figuring that with both Toothless and the Light Fury not in the same area as Stoick, that would make his father more comfortable. Toothless gives Hiccup a worried look which prompts him to reinsure his dragon that he would be alright. "Don't worry, Bud. I'll be fine. I just need to talk to my dad for a few moments. Then we can get some rest before another long day of training tomorrow." Toothless rolls his eyes playfully and warbles softly. Every time Hiccup says not to worry that is when Toothless worried the most. "Light Fury, do you mind keeping Toothless company while I'm with my father?" The Light Fury coos as to answer yes to Hiccup's request. Of course, she would be more than happy to accompany Toothless, while Hiccup is dealing with who she thinks is the alpha of this human flock.
Toothless guesses that spending more alone time with the white dragon was not a dreadful thing. Once both dragons are inside the safety of Hiccup's room, Hiccup closes the door leaving the dragons to themselves. "Before we begin, there is something that I need to know. What did you mean when you said, 'And if anyone is to blame for my mother's death. It would be me, not the dragons, that should bear the blame.' Could you please shed light on what you meant?" Stoick started by asking the question that has been on his mind ever since he argued with Hiccup. Stoick hopes that his son does not blame himself for what that four-winged dragon did about twenty-one years ago. The chief could not blame the actions of that dragon on Hiccup because his son was just a few months old at the time his mother was taken away to her fate.
Rubbing the back of his head nervously before answering his father's question, he figured that he might as well explain what happened between Drago and Valka. He knows that it will be hard, but he needs to tell his father what truly happened to his mother. The trickiest part is explaining it without enraging his father about Toothless's involvement in the whole situation. "Well…you see, last year we had to fight Drago. Long story short Drago had killed Mom when he attempted to kill me. She warned me about Drago being too corrupted to even save, but I thought I could save him from the dark path he took. And that is why it's my fault she is dead. If only I listened to her, she might be still alive today." Hiccup mostly told the truth about what happened to his mother, Stoick's wife. By not telling his father what Toothless's involvement with the death of Valka, Hiccup believes that he is protecting his best friend from his father's well-known temper. Hiccup knows without a shadow of the doubt that Stoick would not hesitate in assaulting Toothless if the chief knew what Toothless had done. "Mom, even though left us, I know that she loved you despite her annoyance with the village's unwillingness to accept change on dragons," Hiccup added because he wanted to remind his father that Valka loved him. He believes that it would bring some closure and needed comfort to Stoick.
Unluckily for Hiccup, Stoick is not taking the news very well. "No…your mother wouldn't have abandoned us like that. She was killed when a four-winged foul devil had taken her away and ate her." Stoick could not fathom the idea of his wife leaving him to raise Hiccup all alone like that. It just did not make sense to the chief of Berk that his wife would do something like that. The only thing that made the most logical sense to him was that his son did not find his mother but someone who was claiming to be her. "That woman couldn't have been your mother." He remembered before his son was conceived that his wife wanted a child, so it did not make sense to him that she would leave him and their infant son. This had to be some cruel joke on him right.
Hiccup does not know what to do about his father's denial of what happened to Valka. The more that Hiccup thinks about it, the more sense it made that his father behaved like this. He knows that if Astrid would have disappeared the same way Valka did, just for Astrid's and Hiccup's child to tell him that Astrid chose to stay away from like Valka, it would shatter Hiccup's heart so it is understandable that his father would react this way. Not that Hiccup believed that Astrid would do something like that to him or their future children, with how strong Astrid's family values are. Hiccup just could not see Astrid doing anything like that. It was then that Hiccup realized something. His father referenced Cloudjumper as a 'four-winged foul devil,' which made Hiccup wonder. Did his father remember what the Stormcutter look like? If Stoick still remembered Cloudjumper, this would not end well once they made it to Hiccup and Astrid's home. Hiccup was not too pleased with himself for not noticing that Cloudjumper might be in danger when he crosses paths with Stoick. With everything that has been happening lately, Cloudjumper was lost in the shuffle but with the inescapable meeting between Stoick and Cloudjumper, it was no wonder that Astrid might have not brought the Stormcutter to Berk in the likelihood that Stoick would have remembered Cloudjumper.
"Anyway, is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Hiccup asks, wanting to change the subject of his mother, knowing that it was near impossible to change his father's stubborn mind about his denial of what Valka truly had done. Besides, he did not want to fight with his father anymore.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is more I wanted to say. Why did you never tell me what was going on before you left with Astrid?" Stoick addresses, hoping to have a better direction with this conversation with his son. "If you had just done that, everything you and Astrid had gone through the past six years, or Gunner, Hilda, and I would have not had gone through the thought that you both were dead? Berk could've changed if you two could've given us a chance to show you." Stoick wanted to ensure his son that he accepted Hiccup for who he truly is despite his disagreement with dragons. But it would seem like Stoick still could not communicate with his son properly. He meant well, he truly did, but unfortunately, Hiccup did not take those statements in the way that he thought his son would.
"Why did I not tell you everything that happened six years ago?! Are you serious, Dad?! Could you have imagined little fifteen-year-old me telling you my best friend is a Night Fury of all things! And you're telling me that I should have told you about that?! We both know what would have happened had I told you about Toothless." Hiccup did not mean to raise his voice like that but the questions his dad was asking were ridiculous. Hiccup takes a deep breath to calm down his nerves before finishing his speech, "I can see you telling me after telling you about Toothless, 'You're not a Viking. You're not my son.'" As Hiccup says, "You're not a Viking. You're not my son," it is in his best Stoick impersonation. Stoick would never admit it, but he was secretly impressed with how close Hiccup's impersonation of him is.
Stoick is also realizing the wording he had said. Thinking of how he said it, he notices that he should have worded that better. It also did not help that his son thought he would disown him if Hiccup had told him about his friendship with Toothless. He wants to believe that he would not do something like that, but unfortunately, his temper might have made him do something like that. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup. That came out wrong," Stoick quickly apologizes, hoping that his son would forgive him. "What I was trying to tell you is that I accept you for you. Even if you are friends with dragons."
There is a part of Hiccup that did not want to forgive his father. Hiccup had recalled all the times where his father had pushed him to the side, or the times when Stoick undermined whatever Hiccup had to say. The green-eyed man remembered all he ever wanted in his childhood was for his father to be proud of him. Sadly, no matter what he did, it was never enough for Stoick or anyone else in Berk. Another part of Hiccup wanted to give his father a chance to prove that Stoick is a changed man. Despite all the times where Stoick was harsh with him, Hiccup believed that his father loved him like he loved Stoick. The young adult reminiscences what his mother told him about his father. Valka had told him before she died that Stoick was never great with communicating with his words with her. He realizes that she might have been right. All the memories of his father telling him one thing, but his actions contradict what he said came rushing through his mind like a raging waterfall. "Alright, I forgive you, but don't make me regret this," Hiccup tells his father choosing to forgive him. As he tells his dad that, he is silently praying to any God that would hear his prayer, that his father would not ruin this opportunity for forgiveness. His father can change only if Hiccup gives Stoick that opportunity.
Relieved that his son would forgive him Stoick crushes Hiccup in a tight bear hug. The chief of Berk is not knowing his strength as he hugged his son. "Thanks for forgiving me, Hiccup!" Stoick could not help himself from shouting in glee. The chief of Berk was grateful that his son was willing to give him another chance. He knows that he does not deserve this occasion but now that he does, he would make sure that he would not let this opportunity slip through his fingers. But that still does not mean he would accept dragons. Especially after all the trouble, they caused him and his people. No matter how many times Hiccup or Astrid could reinsure him of that.
"Y-You're welcome, D-Dad…Could you please let go?… I can't breathe," Hiccup could barely get the words out of his mouth as his face started to turn purple from the lack of oxygen.
Stoick immediately puts Hiccup back down on his feet so his son could breathe again. "I'm sorry, Hiccup," Stoick quickly apologizes to Hiccup. He had not meant to bear hug his son that tightly. Hiccup then starts taking a deep breath between his coughing.
"It's okay. I understand," Hiccup answers his father's apology after his breath was caught. Hiccup is not one to hold any grudges against anyone. He understands that being forgiven for one's sins was an uplifting feeling. He figures that his father was only glad that he forgave him.
"Son, I was wondering how are you going to train the rest of the villagers? Because with today's event, most of the people don't seem to want anything to do with dragons." Stoick had watched what transpired during training and was genuinely curious about how Hiccup was going to force his proud people to train dragons. It would seem like they would not allow themselves to be with dragons.
"Well, I was thinking that the rest of Berk could ride on the ships. We can use some Tidal Class dragons to pull the ships. Most likely we could use Scauldrons," Hiccup answers his dad's questions. The son of Stoick knows that they do not have time to train everyone in Berk to ride dragons, and on top of that most of Berk was against riding dragons in the first place. With every passing second, there is a chance that Grimmel and the rest of Hiccup's enemies could strike. It was simply better to have the villagers that are against riding dragons to be in the safety of their ships where they would be most comfortable. He also knew that Vikings were stubborn and forcing them to do something they did not want to, would have wasted more of their needed time. Not that Hiccup could blame the villagers for not being willing to ride dragons after everything that they went through with dragon raids. He just wishes that they would give him a chance to prove that everything they believed in about dragons was false. But he will need more proof.
"I guess that could work." Stoick is relieved that he did not have to be forced to train a dragon. He would much rather be on a boat than in the sky on the back of a dragon.
Hiccup could not help himself from yawning from exhaustion. It had been an eventful day with helping the twins, Herlerfier and Hertha Thorston, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Gobber, and Gunner Hofferson with choosing their dragons alongside helping them bond with them. During one of their breaks from dragon training, Astrid and Hiccup had decided that they should lead everyone back to their island within the next two days. The eight volunteers should be able to fly with their dragons as well as be able to battle alongside them by then. "It is time for me to get some sleep. Another big day ahead of me tomorrow with teaching the others on how to become dragon riders," Hiccup politely excused himself after he was done yawning.
"Good night, Hiccup," Stoick wishes his son a good night. He did not want to get in the way of his son having a good night's sleep. He wishes they talk more, but he knows Hiccup is busy the following day with dragon training.
"Good night, Dad." With that, Hiccup heads back to his childhood room for a well-deserved rest. The next day would bring a new adventure for everyone.
Hope you guys are having a happy Halloween. Anyway, before we break down this chapter, I need to ask us something I have been going back-and-forth with for months. As you guys can take a guess this story only has a few chapters left. So, I have been spending the last few chapters tying up some loose ends but there has been one that I have not been sure about. So, I have decided to let you guys decide which's direction to go with this one. Do you guys want to have one more dream scene with Zephyr and Nuffink in it? I know it's random but hear me out? Back when I was writing chapter 3 I always wanted to do a dream foreshadow. Which I used that opportunity to do so. As you guys can already know I do read all my reviews and compliments. There was a review that someone was confused, and I have always speculated that it was the dream scene from chapter 3. Like I have said in chapter 16's author note it was a unique and interesting way of having Zephyr and Nuffink in the story where it would not mess up the plot and timeline. I was only trying something that I believed that no other Hiccup and Astrid or just Hiccup running away stories had done so many times before and I wanted to do something with that plot that you guys might have not seen yet. I felt like I had to do something to make my story a little bit different than the other ones. Anyway, for the past few months, I have been going back and forth with doing this again, but I was always hesitant because I don't want to confuse anyone. So, I have decided to let you guys this I defy should do one more dream scene, foreshadow, and dramatic irony with these Zephyr and Nuffink. I know it's just random, but I just could not decide on which to do with this loose end. Special thanks go to corbinace for the ideas for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I. hope you all have a wonderful day and stay safe out there and I will see you in the next update.
