They were so lost in shock seeing everything from so high up, houses lined up on either side of the road with at least two feet between them, the academy, the dragon stables, the farm and animal stables, shops, carts, the village square, the 3 beaches and the dragon sanctuary behind them. "Well then, lets get started. Behind us as you clearly saw is the great hall. All meetings with the chief, and events, as well the emergency bunkers are located here." Alvin began.
"Emergency bunkers?" Gobber asked.
"Hiccup's idea for the elderly, unable to fight, or children in case of attacks. Under the great hall, rows of caves. Impossible to locate unless you know the way in which is only known by myself, the chief, and Cloud." Alvin stated.
"Wow...he thought of everything didn't he?..." Astrid sighed.
"Just about. Moving on! Just over there is the chief's house and yes its off limits unless he invites you there. Not that you'd get by Sunflower." Alvin chuckled now as they looked over to see a large yellow and brown monstrous nightmare.
"Who is Sunflower?" Tuffnut asked curiously. Alvin sighed now.
"She was Strike's wife's dragon. And she only lets Strike and the kids ride her now. Anyone else who tries gets thrown off." Alvin explained as they continued walking through the village where the shops were offering apples, bread, leathers and cloths, clothes, weapons and more. "This is the market, over there is the forge and armory. We also make saddles and armor." Alvin added.
"I'm guess Hiccup is responsible for the saddle making?" Fishlegs said now.
"You've guessed right. Inspired by the one Hiccup made for Toothless when they arrived here 6 years ago. Strike has made other adjustments since, stronger and faster. Not that the Night Fury needs extra speed." Alvin smiled.
"So in all these dragons are there other Night Furies?" Astrid asked.
"So far, Toothless is the only Night Fury around. Cloud seems to think he might be the last of his kind, she came to us just after Hiccup passed away and brought her dragons from her nest after hearing about a place where humans and dragons live in peace." Alvin stated while they continued walking through the market. Everyone looked so happy around this village, the hooligans just couldn't believe it. Hiccup did all this, he made this place so full of life and happiness and all because he was different and they couldn't accept him. This place...could be Berk right now if they had all just listened to Hiccup when he tried to tell them.
"I couldn't help but notice the chief...sings a lot. You know like yesterday on the boat, today rallying everyone and again on the beach...Is that something else Hiccup started?" Stoick asked looking at Alvin now.
"Actually no. That was the chief's wife...She loved to sing and got the chief and the whole village in to it, its their way to remember her because together they kept this village's spirits up. There was only one song Hiccup ever sang, and only Strike knows it. You'd have to ask him to sing it for ya and that's if he wants too. Strike and Hiccup were close, like brothers and losing him hit Strike hard." Alvin said while they walked silently.
"Never took Hiccup as a singer..." Snotlout chuckled.
"You didn't take Hiccup as a lot of things but your proof is right before your eyes. Hiccup wrote a song called Go The Distance, his way of saying he wouldn't stop until he made a place for people like him. Different people. I carried on his legacy by searching the Archipelago and beyond for people who didn't want to be forced to kill dragons, people who wanted to understand them further, people like him. And that is what we have here, people who don't want the war." Hiccup said flying in on Toothless and landing now.
"C–could we...hear it?" Astrid questioned.
"I suppose..." Hiccup shrugged as he closed his eyes. The group of them sat down off to the side of the road to watch, all curious of the song that Hiccup had written.
"I have often dreamed of a far off place...Where a hero's welcome would be waiting for me. Where the crowds will cheer, when they see my face. And a voice keeps saying, this is where I'm meant to be..." Hiccup began, Astrid smiled softly as the rest just watched. "I'll be there someday, I can go the distance. I will find my way, if I can be strong...I know every mile, will be worth my while. When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong..." Hiccup smiled under his mask now as Toothless warbled rubbing his head against Hiccup's hand softly.
"I bet Toothless misses him a lot..." Fishlegs sighed.
"That he does...Like I said, Strike and Hiccup were close so when Strike took over riding Toothless...it was like Hiccup never left him." Alvin added.
"Down an unknown road, to embrace my fate. Though that road may wander, it will lead me to you. And a thousand years, would be worth the wait. It might take a lifetime, but somehow I'll see it through..." Hiccup faced the edge now looking at the sun as a cool breeze came through and he took a deep breath. "And I won't look back, I can go the distance! And I'll stay on track, no, I won't accept defeat! It's an uphill slope, but I won't lose hope...'Til I go the distance, and my journey is complete." Hiccup turned to look at their faces now.
He could see it, the looks of shock and guilt rising again. Hiccup couldn't help but grin a little, he knew what they were thinking. Hiccup the Useless wrote that, it was a song full of emotion about never giving up, to keep going until you found where you belonged. Hiccup had been told by Cami once before that he was the hero of these people, of this island because of what he did. He looked up now.
"But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part. For a hero's strength is measured by his heart!" Hiccup sang out with a hand over his heart. "Like a shooting star, I will go the distance! I will search the world, I will face its harms...I don't care how far, I can go the distance...'Til I find my hero's welcome, waiting in your arms..." Hiccup slowed down now.
"He–he's...talking about dying isn't he?...He knew after helping this place what he was going to do..." Astrid felt a tightness in her chest now. It was all her fault, she shouldn't of said anything to Stoick about Toothless and Hiccup. But what else could she do, he was planning to leave that day. She'd heard him talking about it, about packing up and leaving forever. Would it of made a difference? Would he still of wanted to die if he'd gotten to leave on his own terms rather than being cast out by the people who were supposed to stand with him.
"Aye, its true. After Hiccup finished here, Strike caught him with his shirt off and saw the marks on his arms. Hiccup said the pain of losing his family, his village, and tribe was to much and no amount of good he did would ever bring that back." Alvin mumbled softly. "He was a good lad with nothing more than good intentions..." Alvin added with a scoff.
"I will search the world, I will face its harms...'Til I find my hero's welcome, waiting in your arms..." Hiccup finished softly facing them again. "There ya go. Only song he ever sang, once when he arrived here and right before he left." Hiccup stated now getting back on Toothless.
"Where ya going now?" Gobber asked him.
"Checking the perimeter. Have you finished the tour dad?" Hiccup asked Alvin.
"Just about, am I taking them back to the inn?" Alvin replied.
"Yes. I will retrieve them myself for lunch." Hiccup nodded before taking off.
"He's a good chief, how old is he again?" Fishlegs smiled.
"Strike is 22 years old. He took over when he was 16 just after Hiccup died." Alvin said starting to walk again. "Well come on. You heard him, back to the inn." Alvin insisted. They nodded and followed him quietly, everyone still thinking about the last few hours hearing everything about when Hiccup was there.
"What kinds of things did Hiccup invent when he was here?" Fishlegs asked now.
"The water towers and the pipes that connect all over the village. Since everyone has a dragon they use them to heat the water for baths, also every home including the inn has bathrooms. I'm sure you've noticed the small room off the bedrooms that have a metal tub and seat with a hole in it?" Alvin asked.
"Was wondering what that was..." Tuffnut stated.
"Place to relieve yourselves and clean up. Just make sure you use the buckets of water when you're done to flush it out. Everything goes back to nature and refill the buckets with the spouts in that room. We have fire prevention, landing strips, catapults, the stables, feeding stations, everything. All thanks to that lad..." Alvin said as they reached the inn and the rooms the Hooligans were staying in. "You know the rules, no wandering. Chief will be here for ya in 2 hours." Alvin said to them, they nodded as he walked off.
"So...what now?" Snotlout asked looking at them all.
"I guess we just wait...we're not allowed to wander around without one of them...Maybe we can think of a way to earn Strike's trust...?" Astrid offered now.
"Maybe if Stoick stops bringing up that Strike doesn't know what the pain of losing someone he might be more open to talking to us since every time Stoick opens his mouth, its to insult Strike..." Fishlegs grumbled crossing his arms over his chest now. Stoick was about to protest when he saw all of them glaring at him, he sighed knowing they were right.
"Well...what if we show him we genuinely want to learn about dragons? After all...we wanted to learn after Hiccup left...we all realized that to late. We didn't let Hiccup show us what he knew that day...we didn't give him a chance so he made this place in order to do it and honestly...I think deep down he knew we might find out about it." Gobber suggested.
"What do you mean?" Stoick asked.
"Stoick, weren't you listening to the letter, Strike read...he specifically named us and Gothi...He knew once he gave his name, someone would tell us. He mentioned his things were here on outcast...well Dragons Edge now...I think he knew that we wouldn't listen to him, but maybe with him gone...it'd be an eye opener for us and lets not lie...being here...it has been. We owe it to the lad to do this..." Gobber sighed.
"Gobber is right. So is Fishlegs. Hiccup knew this place wouldn't be kept secret and we'd find out about it, these guys here on this island know about us and what we did to Hiccup...that's why we aren't welcomed so easily and trust has to be earned. And Stoick you need to shut up around him...We all know you miss your late wife...But that doesn't mean Strike hasn't suffered either." Astrid huffed. "We don't know the whole story behind the death of Strike's wife and we know it's a touchy subject...We need to show him he can trust us and Gobber gave a good idea...Show an interest in them, ask questions. Fishlegs got him going on it for a while about Night Furies, our book has nothing on them. All we know are the ways we can die by dragons, and how to avoid them to survive...these guys know how to live with them, have peace with them...and I think...we do owe it to Hiccup for what we did to him to do this..." Astrid added.
"Aye, this is true." Gobber nodded. The others nodded with him.
"But we can't just rush in to it. We have to take it slow, we're obviously going to be here a while so...lets enjoy it. Spitelout can handle the village on his own. Just...ask questions at random, show an interest in it all. For Hiccup..." Fishlegs said putting his hand in. The rest did the same.
"For Hiccup." They said together. For the rest of that time until lunch they were setting boundaries about what not to talk about or said, mainly these were set around Strike's kids and late wife. They didn't want to make him mad, they wanted to understand everything. And they would, they had too.
(The Next Day)
It was the day of the race and everyone was excited. Even the Hooligans were, they never heard of dragon racing and wanted to see it in action. That afternoon it was being held, it was still an hour away but no one could sit still. They were surprised to see how fast decorations and stands were put up for the race, on top of the Snoggletog ones. Strike ran his village with an iron fist but everyone had fun with it, he made it fun by riling them up whether it was a fight, game, or holiday.
None of them really had much chance to ask questions about dragons since Strike was busy but first chance they got they planned too. Cloud had brought them to the stands early so they wouldn't have to sit in the inn waiting impatiently. They were just looking at everything in amazement. "This is so cool! I still don't get how to race dragons but look at all this...set up in one day..." Fishlegs exclaimed.
"It's a sheep catching contest." Came the voice of a little girl beside them, they looked over to see the eldest of Strike's children, the others were brought up by Alvin.
"Then why is it called dragon racing?" Snotlout asked curiously.
"Because the riders are on dragon back racing against one another for whoever catches the most sheep..." The little girl said smiling happily. Hiccup landed on the platform as the kids rushed to give him a hug.
"Is it time yet daddy?" Viggo asked smiling.
"Almost...I gotta go check on a few more things. Can you 3 behave up here until I get back?" Hiccup asked. They nodded to him.
"We'll watch them for you." Astrid offered at a chance to show they could be trusted.
"They can watch themselves..." Hiccup stated, Astrid looked down. "But a little adult supervision never hurt anyone. Just make sure they don't fall..." Hiccup said as got back on Toothless and sped off.
"Great so we're babysitters now. Awesome idea, Astrid..." Ruffnut sighed heavily.
"Guys...We gotta earn his trust somehow. We may as well take the chances we get..." Astrid rolled her eyes as she moved from her seat closer to the stage where the kids were. "Hi there. I'm Astrid, a friend of your daddy's." Astrid greeted smiling.
"Hi! I'm Runa and this is Viggo, and Thora." Runa introduced smiling wide.
"Its nice to meet you. These are my friends. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Gobber, and Stoick. So can you tell me more about dragon racing?" Astrid asked gently.
"Sure! It starts with the 6 riders and their dragons over there and then 15 sheep are released around the island. After 5 minutes, a horn is blown the racers take off on daddy's command. When sheep are caught by rider and dragon, they are dropped in to that teams net. At the end when the sheep have all be caught, the black sheep is launched and that sheep is worth 10 points. The winner gets a feast thrown in their name and their picture painted on a shield in the hall." Runa explained.
"Wow, that sounds like a fun game." Gobber laughed.
"Is it the same riders every time?" Fishlegs asked now.
"Nope. Daddy picks out of his helmet. Its random all the time and we hold a race every two weeks." Viggo added now.
"That's pretty cool." Snotlout smiled nodding.
"If you learn how to ride dragons daddy can put your names down and you can be in the next race!" Runa giggled.
"They aren't ready for dragon racing children." Cloud stated landing now. "Its time." She said. The kids began to jump around happily, Astrid noticed that Runa was close to the edge and accidentally missed the board and slipped off. She screamed for help falling, Astrid jumped off the edge and pulling Runa into her arms and covered her head letting impact hit her instead of Runa. Astrid lost consciousness as soon as her back hit the ground, Runa crawled out of her arms and instantly began to cry.
"No...Astrid?...Astrid wake up please!" Runa asked. The roar of a Night Fury was heard as Toothless landed on the ground and Hiccup rushed over quickly.
"Runa! Are you okay? What happened, talk to daddy..." Hiccup asked quickly.
"I'm sorry daddy...I was playing by the edge...I–I slipped and As–Astrid...caught me...Sh–she isn't...waking up...Just like mommy didn't...I hurt her..." Runa cried against him.
"Ssh...shh its okay...she'll be okay." Hiccup soothed Runa as his mother came down with worry. "Take her. I'll handle Astrid..." Hiccup said handing Runa to his mother as he looked over Astrid quickly. He shook her lightly as she started to come around and wake up slowly groaning.
"Wh–what...Runa! Is she okay?" Astrid asked right away trying to sit up.
"Don't move to fast...you'll knock yourself out again. Runa is safe...Are you alright?" Hiccup asked calmly.
"Ye–yeah...I think so...sore...man that's a short but hard fall." Astrid blinked a few times. Hiccup helped her sit up now and handed her his canteen of water which was attached to Toothless's saddle. She took a small drink and sighed out she heard Runa whimpering about her getting hurt. Astrid crawled over to her with a soft smile, Hiccup only watched. She just fell at least 20 feet from the stands, and landed on her back but moving around already. "Hey...why are you crying sweetie? See...I'm okay. No harm done." Astrid said gently putting her hand on Runa's shoulder. Runa turned quickly to see Astrid looking and smiling at her.
"B–but I...got you hurt because I didn't listen to daddy..." Runa said with a pouty lip.
"You didn't hurt me sweetheart...It was my choice to save you. You're too cute to get hurt. I'm okay, I promise." Astrid told her. Runa smiled and moved from Valka's arms to Astrid's hugging her tightly. Astrid was a little surprised but she acted on instinct and hugged her back before pulling away.
"Runa, what do you say to Astrid?" Hiccup asked.
"Right...Thank you for saving me." Runa smiled widely.
"It was my pleasure, promise me you'll be more careful next time okay?" Astrid smiled at her poking her nose.
"I promise!" Runa said giggling. "Can I sit next to you at the race?" Runa asked her.
"I–if your daddy says its okay then I don't mind..." Astrid replied nervously looking at Strike now.
"Its fine with me. Cloud, will you bring Runa back up? I'd like to speak with Astrid." Hiccup stated calmly. Runa took Cloud's hand and they walked off. Astrid looked at Strike now biting her lip worried if he was going to yell at her. But all she saw was him put his hand out to her and she looked at him confused now. "It takes a lot of courage, and bravery to do what you did. You had no hesitation or worry for your own safety and you could of been seriously injured with a fall like that. Thank you for saving my daughter, Astrid." Hiccup said calmly.
Astrid's eyes widened then Astrid smiled nodding to him as she shook his hand lightly. "So...race time?" Astrid asked.
"Race time. Come on, I'll give you a lift back up." Hiccup said to her as he got back on Toothless and offered his hand to her, she took it and he pulled her up. "Hold on." Hiccup instructed, she put her hands on his shoulders and held on as Toothless took off towards the stands again and landed on the platform letting her off, then himself. Astrid went to sit back down in her spot neat the platform with the rest of her tribe. "Astrid..." Hiccup said to get her attention now. She turned and looked at him, "You have earned my trust."