Berserker Island (part 2):

If he wasn't currently standing on an island he'd never seen before and looking at people he'd never met, Hiccup would probably swear that he was dreaming and had been all day.

From his first archery lesson (which he was definitely going to pursue further), to kissing Astrid in the forest, to his first ever boat ride, so far the day had been like a perfect dream.

And now this.

His father pushed him forward half a step on the dock, presenting him to four extra large chieftains and their hangers-on and all but boomed out, "Oswald! It's been too long, my friend! And Hagan! Looking good. Drugger, also good to see you again. Alvin." Only a brief and barely polite nod to the last before he continued. "But look who I brought! My son, Hiccup!"

It didn't even matter to Hiccup that the other chiefs only gave him cursory once-overs before nodding politely (clearly unimpressed but not willing to aggravate Stoick with their true opinions ) because his father had proudly introduced him like Hiccup was a normal sized teenaged Viking.

And speaking of normal… There's a rather scary looking specimen of young Vikinghood eyeballing me like I might make a tasty snack.

The older teenage boy – who looked about eighteen, had three blue lines tattooed over his left eye, and wore a truly impressively horned helmet - was pushed forward just like Hiccup had been. A move he didn't seem to appreciate, if the look of annoyance he shot at Oswald was any indication. The Berserker chief wore the same boastful look that Stoick had, but he definitely had more claim to it. "Nice to finally meet you, Hiccup. This is my son, Dagur. You two should get along well, since you'll both be leaders of your tribes one day. Great ones, I should think." (He was only looking at Dagur when he said the last.)

Dagur liked that, at least, as he smirked and puffed out his already well developed chest. "Naturally." The green eyed boy eyeballed Hiccup up and down with a sneer. "A better one than you, undoubtedly. You look more like target practice than a future chief." This was said as the boy caressed the hilt of one of the six long daggers tucked into his belt.

And the dream just turned into a nightmare. I'm getting a very bad feeling about this, Hiccup thought with a mental sigh of resignation.

Astrid, being Astrid, was the first to react to the slur. She charged forward and glowered up at the somewhat taller and decidedly heavier than her boy, her axe off her back and pushing into his throat threateningly, narrowing her eyes at him. She took in a breath and regretted it as the stench of sweat and rancid meat hit her. Gods, take a bath! Her aversion didn't stop her from saying her piece, though. If anything, it made her words even more emphatic. "If you harm so much as a single hair on Hiccup's head, I will remove ALL of yours and not be too careful about any sensitive bits it might be attached to while I'm at it, got it?"

Even as he wished he had the guts to defend himself like that, Hiccup still practically swooned with worship and desire for his fierce warrior goddess. Thor, she's so fricking perfect it hurts.

Apparently Dagur thought she was worth drooling over as well (and had zero sense of danger), because he pushed her axe away with a negligent hand, leaving a small trail of blood across his neck, and gave her a once over. Twice. "Hmmmmm. Me likey. Shave away, my beautiful Vikingess." He reached to pull her forward with a hand around her waist.

Astrid growled in annoyance, grabbed his hand, bent the fingers over backwards, and hooked a foot behind his. Dagur howled as something snapped in his hand and he hit the dock with a thud. Her boot went on his broken hand and she ground down, making him whimper. "No touching me, either."

All the men laughed as she stepped off with a toss of her bangs, turning back to Hiccup and winking at him, a huge grin on her face. Astrid loved taking down bigger opponents. She lived for it, in fact.

Hiccup beamed back, about ten times more in love with her now than he had been a minute ago. (And that was already a heck of a lot.)

"Good one, girl." Oswald praised. "Never seen anyone get the better of my son like that before. Good for him to learn a little humility, I say."

Astrid's parents and the other Berkians finally disembarked the longship to join the group on the dock, finished with tidying up and collecting their camping supplies for the night. "That's our Astrid!" Hector boomed proudly, his arms full of bundles. "Best young warrior on Berk."

"Thanks, Dad," Astrid said with a bright smile that lit up her face. (Their previously strained relationship quickly falling back into normal patterns as the days progressed, much to everyone's relief.)

Cradling his right hand to his chest, Dagur jumped back up onto his feet and looked at his father. "I want her."

Oswald looked at Stoick with a raised eyebrow. "Is she available?"

Stoick grinned at Hiccup. "Not anymore. My son already won Astrid's affections. They're engaged."

Oswald looked back at Dagur and shrugged. "Sorry, Son."

Dagur sneered. "As if that little runt is any competition."

Both Stoick, Alga, and Astrid glowered on Hiccup's behalf, which he appreciated, but honestly, he wasn't offended. Hiccup knew what he was.

"That 'little runt' is my only son," Stoick rumbled warningly. "And I don't care to hear anyone insult him."

Hiccup puffed up with joy at being defended by his father.

"And my fiancé," Astrid said firmly, linking her free arm through Hiccup's. (She was still holding her axe, hoping to take another shot at Dagur if he was stupid enough to give her an excuse for one.)

Hiccup puffed up even more, feeling more wanted than at any other point in his life.

"And I'm not changing my mind," Astrid continued, glaring figurative daggers at Dagur. Gods, what a name choice. I wouldn't mind throwing real daggers at Dagur either. "Especially not for an insensitive lout with the grooming habits of a swine."

Hiccup snickered under his breath as Dagur pressed his hand to his heart and looked up at the sky. "Thor! Can a more perfect maiden exist? Why do you torment me so by attaching her to someone so much less worthy?!"

"Because I earned her respect," Hiccup said, speaking up for the first time. "It's the only way to win the heart of an earth-bound Valkyrie and keep all your limbs intact."

Astrid beamed and squeezed his arm. The elder males guffawed. And Dagur huffed, turning his nose up to the air as he spun and stomped away on the wooden dock. Hiccup couldn't help but think that with the green eyes and the red braid that stuck out from below the back of his helmet, Dagur looked a lot more like Stoick than his own black haired (with some grey thrown in) father. At least Oswald has green eyes too, or I'd be really worried right now.

Stoick clapped Oswald on the back as the group started to follow Dagur's path. "Soooo, my old friend, what is this sudden tribe meeting about? And my apologies if I'm late to the party. We just received word from Trader Johann this morning."

Oswald's expression shifted from amused to exhausted and worried instantly. "You made good time, then."

"Yes, the winds were with us. And the sea beasties left us alone for once," Stoick said with less prideful enthusiasm than he usually would have, seeing his friend's distress. "But what is wrong?"

"My daughter has gone missing," Oswald said, his voice so quiet, it was only just loud enough to be heard over the sound of gentle waves hitting the dock and the nearby rocks.

Stoick gasped. "Not wee Heather?!"

"Unfortunately, yes," Oswald answered glumly as they started climbing stairs carved into the rock walls of the island. "My wee Heather girl has been missing for nearly a week."

"That's awful!"

"Aye." Oswald heaved a shuddering sigh that practically shook his large frame. "We've looked all over the island. She's not here. And none of the boats are missing. Nor did we have any known visitors just before her disappearance."

Hiccup glanced at Astrid, wondering if he should ask if it was possible for the girl to have drowned, but Astrid shook her head minutely, knowing him well enough to guess his thoughts (which were probably everyone else's as well, but no one wanted to say it either.)

"And no dragon attacks?" Stoick asked, as that had been his first thought.

"No. You know we settled on this desolate rock because the dragons don't come here."

"Aye. I know," Stoick said softly as the group entered the bustling village that was almost big enough to be called a city. (The dragon free location was very attractive despite the mostly barren earth and rocks of the island.) "Just checking."

"That's all right." Oswald shot his friend a sympathetic look, knowing how Stoick lost his wife. "Anyway. I've called together this meeting because I fear that my daughter has been stolen by one of our enemies… possibly for ransom…" He paused and then added, "or worse."

Everyone in the now rather large group winced.

It wasn't unheard of for Viking girls to be stolen and sold as breeding slaves, especially if they were comely; there were certain types out there that appreciated how hardy the Viking women were. And Stoick knew that Heather fit the criteria, having met her mother on a few occasions before she died at sea during a particularly vicious hurricane. Helean had been a beautiful red haired minx who loved to flirt for fun while still being loyal to the husband she adored. Heather, with her father's black hair and her mother's beauty, had already been driving the boys crazy with unsatisfied lust at just fourteen when he saw her in the spring during the yearly treaty renewal between their tribes. Much like Astrid, actually, Stoick thought with a tinge of amusement that only lasted a moment as the enormity of the situation set back in. Hiccup would be devastated if Astrid suddenly disappeared like that. I'd be scouring the ocean and all of the lands for the girl, no question.

"That is certainly a possibility we'll have to consider," Hagan Frostbeard, the chief of Chilblain, was saying as their group meandered into a crowded communal space already crackling with voices, bonfires, and the mouthwatering smell of simmering meat.

Oswald indicated a large empty table set at what would be the head of the room, if the outdoor space was a room. "Trust me, I'm already considering it."

"So what do you want us to do?" Stoick asked as he settled his large bulk onto the bench beside Oswald, with Hiccup, Astrid, and her parents falling into place beside them, and the other Chiefs and some of their people settling across the table. Anyone who didn't fit on the benches just made themselves at home at nearby tables. A serving wench appeared almost seconds later with platters of bread and sliced yak meat and put them in front of them as another girl started pouring everyone mugs of ale.

Oswald sighed and looked into his mug like it might spew answers for him. "I honestly don't know, Stoick. But I thought it best that I let you all know what had happened in case one of your girls go missing as well."

"That was a good idea," Hagan said. "Who knows who they could target next… if it is a conspiracy, that is. Even my girl could be a target."

As Stoick snorted into his mug, only sort of covering his reaction of incredulity, his long-time friend-turned-barely-tolerated-rival laughed outright. "Oh, aye. Smulder's still a fetching lass, even with three decades behind her," Alvin said with a teasing gleam in his blue eyes as he looked to the next table over. "I'm sure she'll be at the top of any list of Vikingess' to steal."

Everyone followed Alvin's line-of-sight and Hiccup couldn't help his own hidden snort into a mug. The woman in question was closer to his father's age than his own, and she probably outweighed Hiccup four times over. Soooo, a typical Viking Warrioress, but not generally something someone would want to kidnap for ransom or sell as a slave. From what he could see of her face in the darkening sky, she did look pretty enough, though, he'd give her that. Surprised she's not married, actually.

Hagan glared at Alvin out of principle, but there wasn't too much heat to it. Alvin just smirked and stabbed a steak with his eating dagger, still eyeballing the Frostbeard heir.

Stoick rolled his eyes. "If anyone is at the top of someone's list, it would have to be our Astrid, here."

"Hey!" the girl in question protested.

"I think that was meant to be a compliment," Hiccup muttered to her as he cut up a very large and perfectly cooked steak for them to share.

"Yeah, I got that. But still... Hey! No one's gonna be stealing me. They'd find themselves in pieces first."

The men laughed at her boasting, but Hiccup had no doubt she'd follow through with her word. But just to be safe… "It wouldn't hurt if we posted extra watches, would it, Dad?"

Stoick squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "Sure, Son. We can do that." He turned the other way and looked at Oswald. "And as for Heather, we'll spread the word and everyone will keep an eye out for her."

"Starting with Johann and the other traders," Hiccup suggested. "They see practically everyone."

"Very true, Hiccup," Oswald said smiling, a little wanly, but it was still a smile. "Smart boy, you have there, Stoick."

Stoick grinned at his son proudly. "I always knew that."

Hiccup beamed back, the day ending like a good dream after all.