Okay, they could officially all say that this Henrik guy was pretty amazing with the things he could do. Riding dragons, speaking their language, stopping raids, and the forge skills where he built a working dragon tail? And on top of all that, he was an amazing father to his daughter, Emma. However, even with all the good he did, there were questionable things about him that people still didn't know the answers to and more on that is that Henrik didn't seem to want to answer either. If the subject of Emma's mother was brought up, he'd shut down. Mentioning his father caused him to request being left alone for a little bit. All they knew about him was the fact he was a dragon rider, speaker, and father who was adopted very young by a man who lived in the dragon nest when Henrik was brought there by this one dragon who he only referred to as Cloud Jumper. The most interesting and confusing thing was about where he came from originally.
Henrik admitted that he was told at the young age of thirteen from his father that he was adopted by him when Cloud Jumper returned to the nest one night. Henrik had said that Cloud Jumper took him from a Viking village where he'd been left alone very young and in a compromising situation that could have killed him if Cloud Jumper hadn't taken him away. Henrik also mentioned that he didn't even know his real name, that Henrik was given to him by his adoptive father and the man's dying words were for him to spread peace and find his real family. There was so much to wonder about him such as who is father was, a lone man living among dragons was all they'd been told by Henrik. Who was Emma's mother? They knew she had passed away last year, but it seemed more than that for Henrik and Emma to become so...quiet and upset about it. And another question the small group learning from him had was who the mean man was that Emma had nightmares about?
However, if it ever got asked, Henrik refused to answer and when asked why he wouldn't, the answer would be something along the lines of 'We have a contract for me to teach you about dragons, not my life. Stay out of it and let's get back to work,'. That was it, after that, the topic would return to dragons. Thus far, he claimed he would only stay another week or so then go check on things at the nest. And in truth, a week had passed and he was still on Berk teaching them about dragons. They never imagined there would be this much to know about them. Facts, stats, colors, male or female, habitat, food source, etc. Two weeks he'd been on Berk total and apparently, there was still more to learn and understand. Yet, none of them minded. Henrik was good to have around, they hadn't had a raid since the night Hilda shot Toothless down out of the sky.
On that, Hilda didn't like him one bit and admitted it to her friends that she was so close to getting in dragon training, proving her parents she could fight with everyone else, then Henrik arrived and was changing everything they'd ever done. Hilda hated it more so because the contract forbade the Hairy Hooligans from hurting the dragons after Henrik taught them how to obtain peace with dragons. But in another sense, Hilda felt a connection to him. It was faint and completely unexplainable, it's like she understood what he had been through and also...something about his life that they knew very little about, it seemed familiar, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. All that aside, today was another day of training they'd be meeting up with Henrik for.
"What do you think today's lesson will be?" Valka asked, "I'm rather enjoying them,"
"They are kind'a fun," Bearlegs smiled.
"I find it amazing that all this was possible the whole time and we never took the time to see it until Hilda broke the rules, snuck out during a raid and then shot down Henrik's dragon," Ruffnut snickered as Hilda huffed angrily with her arms over her chest.
"I was just trying to prove I could fight like everyone else," Hilda remarked. "Not that it matters because of this little peace pact with a complete stranger and we're not allowed to hurt them anymore," she muttered under her breath.
"Hilda, enough." Stoick sighed shaking his head.
"I don't understand why you two are just so calm about this! I swear it's like you forgot all about the son that was taken from here," Hilda reminded. "You know, Hiccup, your SON that was by a DRAGON and killed!" Valka froze now, her eyes widened and welling with tears.
"Hilda! How can you say such a thing?" Astrid said quickly.
"Well, it's true. Hating dragons for years, suddenly we find a guy who rides a dragon and has peace with them and we all just...convert?" Hilda huffed.
"That's still no reason to bring up the child they lost," Gobber sighed.
"It's stupid! I got sheltered for years because of Hiccup being taken, I finally got my chance and it turned into this! He claims to be able to teach peace but for two weeks...all we've done is learn a few facts about dragons that we didn't before. Big deal, that's not teaching us peace with them," Hilda yelled just as they arrived at the location where Henrik sat on the grass with Emma, "I'm not saying peace isn't possible, I'm saying he ain't taught us anything about how to obtain it." she added.
"I agree with her actually." Snotlout mentioned.
"When you trust me, I will trust you," Henrik stated calmly as they all looked to him. "I know very well I've not taught you how to obtain peace yet and it's because you do not trust me, therefore, I do not trust you."
"We have a contract, Henrik," Stoick reminded as Henrik now stood up.
"That's just a piece of paper with two signatures on it. You don't trust me because I'm an outsider who rides the most feared dragon known to all Vikings. And I do not trust that you won't destroy that contract the minute I leave and go back on your word. All you know is killing them, and all I know is protecting them." Henrik informed. "Please, Stoick. You don't honestly believe that I'm just going to hand over my knowledge of peace, do you? Certainly not when you don't trust me. Trust is not simply given, it is earned."
"We do trust you," Valka insisted.
"No, you do not. Perhaps some of you do, but not all. I've given you no reason not to trust me, I have been honest since being shot down by your daughter. How can I trust a group of people who did that so easily without even considering the fact that my dragon wasn't attacking anyone? I was simply flying over trying to avoid the village," Henrik reminded. "In case you have forgotten, I stopped your raid and you've not had a single one since my arrival. That alone should be proof that I am trustworthy. I told those dragons to leave Berk alone, and they have. If there is to be no full trust given, then I take my leave with my dragons and daughter."
"Wait, please...don't go. Hilda is just...mad that she proved she could fight dragons and we met you and decided that if there is a way to stop the fighting, then we rather have peace over death." Astrid tried quickly.
"I assure you, Henrik, we won't break the contract. The Island of Berk never breaks a contract," Stoick told him.
"Actions speak louder than words, Stoick. It is one of the many lessons my father passed onto me before he passed away three, almost four years ago now. You can tell me all you want that you won't break the contract, but your actions do not prove your words. I spoke the truth and proved it. Granted, I may not have shown you how to obtain peace and that is due to the fact, I know you don't trust me so how can I trust you?"
"We've not harmed you, as per the agreement," Gobber mentioned.
"That's because you're terrified of Toothless and Stingwhip turning you into their next meal. Once more, where's the trust? I've assured you my dragons won't harm a soul unless you harm Emma or myself," Henrik remarked now. "As I said. You do not trust me, so I do not trust you."
"I trust you," Astrid said stepped forward.
"As do we," Gobber, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Bearlegs, and Sharpnut said together while stepping forward.
"I appreciate the gesture. But my father taught me is that a village stands together and that is what makes them unbeatable. I cannot teach a village how to obtain peace if not all of them will be in agreement on such a matter. And do not feed me the line that because he's the chief and whatever he says goes, because that is forcing a matter, another aspect where peace cannot be obtained. Trust is both given and received between people, it is also earned through acts proving ones words and actions. I spoke of peace being possible, that dragons do not need to be killed for such a desire to be reached and I proved that by stopping your raids. I assured you my dragons will not harm you, and they have not on my orders unless you decide to harm me." Henrik stated. "I gave you my trust after my dragon was shot down, and you merely allowed me to stay to cure your own curiosity."
"We gave you our trust," Hilda scoffed.
"But did you give it fully or have you been hesitating?" Henrik asked her as she stared at him a moment, then averted her eyes downward, "I'll let you in on a little secret of how I know you don't trust me fully, it's because my dragons can hear very well and tell me the things people say. I know I'm not wanted or welcome here, I've stayed thus far because I had hoped that with time, people would see I mean no harm and only desire to see the dragon and Viking war end with peace restored. However, just as my father told me...some minds won't be changed and there will always be those refuse to change due to grudges or fear."
"That is not true!" Hilda raised her voice at him.
"Isn't it? Tell me, what were you going on about a moment ago with your parents? Something about a boy being taken from here and killed by a dragon? That you were sheltered because of the incident?" Henrik asked.
"Yeah, their first child got taken from here years ago by a dragon and killed. I was born two years after it happened, and I've been kept sheltered so it doesn't happen to me too," Hilda stated.
"That is your parents trying to protect you and you should not scold them for such. I for one would be pretty appreciative my parents wanted to protect me from the past repeating itself. You don't need to speak to me about someone being taken from a village in case you have forgotten so soon who else was taken by a dragon. Me. However, I was taken in order to be saved since I was left alone and would have died otherwise. Cloud Jumper taking me was an act of instinct to protect. I know the dragons do not just go around taking children without good reason." Henrik said firmly.
"You cannot prove that!" Hilda argued.
"I can actually. Emma's mother was abandoned after she lost her parents, and grandmother. No one else would care for her and she was alone so Windstrike took her from her village too and then I found her. Windstrike was protecting her, as Cloud Jumper did for me. Now, I am sorry for the loss of your child, chief and chieftess Haddock. But...for all you know this child that was taken could still be alive and being cared for by someone else and you just didn't look hard enough considering you admitted to not leaving the Archipelago walls. This incident, however tragic it may be, does prove my point. You do not give me your full trust because of a dragon taking your child, that is a grudge and until you lose that...I cannot believe nor trust your words that you desire peace with dragons." Henrik informed calmly.
"Papa, I wanna go home..." Emma said softly tugging his pant leg.
"We can't go home yet, baby girl. Cloud Jumper or Windstrike have not yet returned to tell me it's safe, but let's start packing up and we'll camp out on one of the islands closer to home. One that doesn't have other people," Henrik smiled to her.
"Henrik, please! Don't leave, we really do want to learn!" Astrid pleaded.
"Prove your words to obtain peace then," Henrik stated. "Learning is a mere desire. Speaking is a mere action. Prove you want to learn, don't just speak of it. Prove you trust me, don't just say that you do."
"But how, the contracts are the only way we keep to our word. It's an old Viking tradition," Valka insisted.
"That is truly sad, humans cannot keep their word simply because it's the right thing to do and require a mere peace of paper with signatures on it to ensure words will not be broken. My three-year-old can vouch the fact that if I make a promise, I keep it." Henrik picked Emma up now as she laid her head on his shoulder. "As I've said, I'm not sure what I've done to make you think you cannot trust me. But since you don't trust me, then I cannot give my own in return. Perhaps if nothing else, you can take this as a suggestion. Why not take your Tribe to the Great Hall and speak with them and discover what it is about me that cannot be trusted. Then you can come back and tell me and I'll make necessary changes to prove I can be trusted."
"Henrik, it's not you who needs to change..." Gobber sighed.
"Obviously it is if the members of your Tribe with trust issues. I understand that you have your way of life, killing dragons is all you know because you didn't know there were other ways until you met me. I understand it's difficult to trust a complete stranger who rides the back of a dragon you fear. However, and as I've said many times...I've given you no reason not to trust me. Clearly what I've done is not enough, so you go figure out what needs to change, and I'll be here until sunset waiting for said answer." Henrik said calmly continuing to hold his child close to him before turning away from them and sitting back down on the ground with Emma in his lap as she pulled a notebook back into her own lap and started drawing again.
The group of Vikings turned and walked away slowly, "Papa, are we gonna be home in time for my birthday?" they heard Emma ask Henrik.
"I'm not sure, I hope so," Henrik replied as he kissed her cheek. "If not, we'll just find another way to celebrate," he added tickling her sides and she started laughing uncontrollably.
"He is a good man, I don't see why the rest of you won't trust him..." Ruffnut sighed. "He's right, though. Trust is given both ways and earned. You can't say you trust someone, you have to prove it. Earn it." she added.
"Stoick, why don't we gather the village and figure it out. I know we lost Hiccup to dragons, but...the fighting needs to end somewhere." Valka placed her arm on her husband's shoulder.
"Aye, I agree. We cannot keep up the constant killing, there will never be peace if we do. Henrik is right, we hold a grudge on dragons because of what happened to Hiccup and that is why we don't give our full trust to him. Because he's someone who works with them, rides them and that is something we never thought possible because it sounds as insane as it looks," Stoick sighed.
"But it's not enough if just us trust him. The village needs to trust him as well," Astrid interjected calmly.
"Then, we round up the village in the hall over lunch and we figure out what everyone's problem is," Sharpnut stated firmly, all in agreement now they headed out of sight.
(Lunch)
When everyone had formed up in the hall minus Henrik, Emma, and the two dragons, Stoick stood up and raised his hands in order to settle everyone down. "Alright, everyone hush. We got a matter to discuss regarding Henrik,"
"Are we finally kicking him off the island?" someone retorted.
"No the opposite actually. We want him to stay and continue teaching us about dragons, but he feels we don't trust him so he doesn't trust us in return." Valka stated standing up now.
"Well, we don't trust him. He rides a dragon! A NIGHT FURY!" someone shouted.
"Who is very well behaved and not harming a soul. Henrik assured the dragon won't hurt anyone as long as we don't hurt it or him and his daughter." Astrid muttered with her arms over his chest. "What will it take for you to trust him?"
"For one, we'd like to know more about him. All we know is that he lives among dragons, rides a Night Fury, has a daughter who lost her mother last year. That's it," another stated calmly.
"Yeah, the guy doesn't open up at all about his past and he said he's only here to teach us about dragons." someone else added.
"In all fairness, he doesn't remember much about where he came from. We can't hold that against him, he was taken from a village as a baby by a dragon who was saving his life." Valka insisted quickly.
"But still, what of the girl's mother? How did she pass? Why does that metal covered dragon hate us so much?" one asked.
"Windstrike doesn't trust outsiders because of the man who killed her rider," Henrik stated from against the door.
"When the-How did you get in here?!" Hilda asked quickly pulling her ax.
"I'm good at sneaking around to free dragons from villages who capture them. Don't pull your weapon on me when we both know my sword can slice yours in half. Anyway, just thought I'd come in to let you know that there are eight ships heading to the backside of your island. I believe the insignia on the sails shows they are Outcasts from what you showed me about who to avoid." Henrik informed.
"The Outcasts?!" Stoick yelled.
"I take it they aren't allies then?" Henrik asked.
"No. Two Tribes who don't work with anyone are the Outcasts and Murderus." Astrid replied.
"Well, just thought you should know they are coming. Saw them while flying, Toothless pointed them out and suggested I inform you. They should be here within twenty minutes judging by winds and currents," Henrik closed his eyes still leaning on the wall.
"Why are you so calm about this!? They'll kill your dragons in a heartbeat," a villager shouted.
"He ain't worried about it because he can make an escape riding the fastest dragon around, he doesn't have enemies." another retorted.
"Actually because I am a dragon rider, I have many enemies. Just saying," he shrugged. "However, I feel you have more pressing matters to attend to than worry about me given you've got enemies sailing to your island and have so far wasted five minutes complaining about me. If I were you, I'd be figuring out a way to prepare for it."
"Stoick...we don't...have time to prepare a counter attack," Spitelout told him as everyone began to panic. Henrik sighed as he rolled his eyes and opening the Great Hall doors to see Toothless waiting there with Stingwhip and Emma between them.
"Come on, bud," Henrik said getting on his back now.
"See, he's running!" a villager shouted.
"Stingwhip, keep Emma safe. Toothless, let's go." Henrik told them as he pulled a metal mask out from the side bag and slipped it over his head, a leather piece over his mouth. Toothless gave a nod as he darted off.
"I don't think he'd escape and not take his daughter with him, you idiot..." Ruffnut and Astrid said together while rolling their eyes.
"Sweetie, where's your Daddy going?" Valka asked the small child.
"Just watch," Emma smiled pointed to the area on the sea where the ships were sailing in. They watched as Henrik flew Toothless straight out towards the ships were, in seconds they saw Toothless dive down and fire his blasts at the ships, two each and destroying the sails that slowed their sailing. Two ships still in tact turned around and began sailing back Southeast after picking up the others Vikings who had jumped ship when it caught on fire and began sinking. Henrik whipped Toothless around and landed in front of the Great Hall and looked at the Hooligans through his mask that only showed his green eyes.
"Y-You're hurt..." Hilda said softly motioning to the arrow in his shoulder.
"That arrow can't hurt papa, his armor is made from dragon scales," Emma stated as she jumped into her father's arms and hugged him tightly. Henrik sat her on Toothless's back as he pulled the helmet off and tucked it under his arm before yanking the arrow out from his shoulder armor.
"You're welcome." Henrik said before turning from them and giving a whistle that his dragons follow and then he stopped, "Oh, but to answer your question from earlier. Emma's mother was Windstrike's rider, and a madman killed her last year. That's why Windstrike doesn't trust outsiders. There are those who only seek to harm, kill, and destroy like the man who killed Emma's mother. There are those who harm, capture, sell, and kill dragons for profit and business. Those people have proved they have no interest in changing their ways. People like them are why I do not trust easily and asked you to prove your words to me. None of us really trust outsiders, but I like to believe everyone deserves a chance at least." With that said, he began to walk away again.
"Henrik, wait a moment..." Stoick said as he glanced back now. "Why did you do it? Attack the Outcasts and send them sailing back home?"
"Because you said they were your enemies, and mentioned they would kill my dragons in a heartbeat. That alone is enough to know that they are no different than the hunters, or the madman who killed Emma's Mom. You said you were unprepared to handle such an assault on the island so I took it upon myself to send them away for you." Henrik said.
"But...why?" Hilda asked. "You could have run with your daughter, and dragons and left us to find a way to deal with it, or you could have let us get attacked. You said you didn't trust us...so why did you help us!"
"How can I claim to spread peace if I didn't help those in need? Had I left, more innocent lives could be hurt or lost. I don't believe there should be any fighting among anyone or any species. I don't just protect dragons from humans, I protect humans from dragons and each other too. There doesn't just need to be peace between humans and dragons, it needs to be among all humans too. That is the only way true peace is created," Henrik said to them, "Why did I help you even though I don't trust you because you don't trust me? Because I wanted to and it was the right thing to do,"
Hilda's eyes softened a bit while looking at him, she put her ax back on her back and smiled gently at him. "You have my trust," she said.
"Ours too," Stoick added standing beside Hilda with his wife.
"You have ours already," Astrid smiled standing with Ruffnut, Gobber, Fishlegs, Spitelout, Bearlegs, and Sharpnut.
"That was pretty cool of you to help us. You got mine," Tuffnut said, then punched Snotlout's arm as he rubbed it.
"Yeah, yeah. You got mine too," the young male muttered. Gothi stepped forward now as she wrote something in the dirt and smiled at Henrik, he looked over it and smiled some. She had told him the village will trust the man who selflessly risked himself to protect them regardless of personal feelings.
"Well, now that we've got that settled. I suggest you meet me at the forest edge in fifteen minutes, we're way behind on today's lesson." Henrik replied now.
"You'll stay and keep teaching us?" Astrid asked with a bright smile.
"That I will." Henrik nodded as he headed down the stairs with his dragons and Emma on Toothless's back.
