Hiccup felt a weight hit his right shoulder. He heard Sharpshot squawk and shift to his left.
"Let me guess," he said, a frown playing around his lips. "Icewing?"
Icewing gave a soft coo and Sharpshot gave a sharp chirp. Hiccup sighed.
"Young one, you're supposed to ask your parents' permission and mine before hopping onto my shoulder."
Icewing crooned, nuzzling against him. Hiccup gritted his teeth. He really did love the hatchlings and honestly saw them as members of his own family but Pale and Frost had asked him to keep the boundaries they had set.
"Icewing," Hiccup said, firmly. "You know the rules."
Icewing chittered. She nuzzled him once more then Hiccup felt her weight leave his shoulder. Sharpshot shifted back to his usual spot. Hiccup sighed but continued on even as he heard Frost and Pale chitter at their daughter. He knew he could not look back. That would only give Icewing more of an incentive to disobey. He caught his father's nod before passing the chief and the village Council as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He smiled at his father, happy to know he had done something right.
He greeted Pinpoint and Skysinger with scratches to their chins, earning coos from the pair and chittering from Skysinger's parents. The young Nadders chirped and tried to hide behind their mother's legs. Hiccup knelt then sat down, curling his metal leg under his raised right knee. The young Nadders chirped, watching him. Skysinger chittered and it sounded soothingly. The young Nadders looked at her then at their parents. The purple Nadder shifted to nuzzle them.
[It's okay,] the purple Nadder said. [He hasn't offered harm. His kind isn't offering harm.]
Hiccup heard some chitters but not from the young Nadders. He looked left, finding Ringfire's bigger hatchling slithering away from Pepper and Piper. The young Zippleback, along with Blue and Star had been watching over Ringfire's hatchlings as Ringfire had to stand with the other Elders in the ring of dragons and Vikings surrounding the plaza. Now the yellow Zippleback was chasing after one of her charges, chittering sharply.
Ringfire squawked once. The bigger hatchling stopped and laid flat. He crooned something that sounded like a question. Hiccup saw every Elder dragon tilt their heads. Ringfire slithered from her place next to Amethyst. She stopped by her son, chittering down at him. He responded. Ringfire tilted her head then looked to Hiccup.
[My son thinks you could better calm the Spike-thrower younglings if the young of the nest show them you are not dangerous.]
Hiccup smiled. "That is a great idea," he said.
Ringfire chittered. Her hatchlings began slithering away from Blue and Star. Sage chirped and Sunset and Sunrise glided over to land on Hiccup's left side. They stared up at him. He smiled and nodded his head. Every young dragon in the nest had been told to ask his permission before touching him now that hatchlings were present. Which was a good thing, since he still worked in the forge with Gobber. At least with a forewarning he could ensure nothing that would harm the young dragons was nearby.
Sunset and Sunrise rubbed against Hiccup's left side. Sunset looked towards the Nadder younglings and chittered.
[Afa is a good afa,] he said, promptly flopping onto his back.
Hiccup chuckled and reached over, scratching the fledgling Terror's belly scales. Sunset cooed then shifted so he could see the Nadder younglings, even from upside down.
[See?]
The Nadders did not have a chance to respond. Ringfire's hatchlings reached Hiccup and at his nod the three smaller ones crawled into his lap. Hiccup straighten both legs so the hatchlings had room and curled his arms around them so none of the three fell off. The bigger hatchling slithered to raise onto his tail behind Hiccup. Hiccup smiled, feeling the hatchling nuzzle against the back of his head before a weight rested gently upon the top of his head. Hiccup heard the pitter patter of small paws and felt dirt hit his leg. He looked right. Frost and Pale's hatchlings sat looking up at him, even Icewing. They chittered. Hiccup smiled.
"Go on," he said and soon had two Ice Terror hatchlings in his lap along with the smaller Whispering Death hatchlings.
Thankfully both species could fit. The longer Whispering Deaths just had Wildfire and Snowfire wiggling into the ball they created. Hiccup was not surprised that Icewing climbed up to his shoulder and buried into his neck. He looked at the ring of Vikings and dragons, noting the three other younglings of the nest that were here for this gathering.
"Firestorm, Rockmoss, Pepper and Piper," he said. "You all want to join in?"
Rockmoss looked up at his mother. She smiled and nodded her head. He walked away, moving over to Hiccup's left side. He laid down, bracketing Sunset and Sunrise between him and Hiccup. Firestorm moved away from Torgeir, who stood with the Hoffersons near to Stoick and the village Council. He shuffled close and laid down near to Hiccup's right side. He laid his head down in front of Hiccup's feet. Hiccup grinned and nodded his head. Firestorm lifted his head and placed it upon Hiccup's shins. Pepper and Piper waddled-walked closer but paused. Both heads titled and regarded him. Hiccup smiled.
"You're a youngling of the nest, little one," he whispered. "You can join in."
Pepper and Piper squeaked. She waddle-walked closer and both head nuzzled against Hiccup's. The bigger hatchling moved to lay between Firestorm and Hiccup, pressing up against Hiccup's right leg. Sharpshot chittered softly and shifted away from the Zippleback.
[Sharpshot?] Toothless called from the edge of the hill right above Hiccup's seated position. [Having fun?]
[You should be down here too, oh great Nest Protector,] Sharpshot returned.
[Oh, but I'm enjoying the show from up here just fine.]
The six new Nadders, even the small ones, jerked and looked up at Toothless. The small ones slipped out from behind their mother and shuffled forward. They stared at Toothless in silence for several moments then began to chitter excitedly. The mother looked down at Hiccup.
[You have a Wind-shrieker as Nest Protector?] she asked.
"Toothless is my brother, as is Sharpshot."
The older Nadders blinked. The father looked to Skysinger and chirped. She responded. As they talked in the Old Tongue the young Nadders stared at Hiccup. One the color of the sky in the evenings eased forward and cautiously sniffed Hiccup's boot. It chittered, causing its siblings to shuffle close and sniff as well. They squawked excitedly and began nuzzling against Hiccup's boot. Icewing chirped sharply. They froze. Hiccup frowned as they shuffled back.
"Icewing, we do not scare newcomers," he said.
Icewing chittered.
[She was telling them to ask permission before touching you,] Sharpshot said softly.
"Ah," Hiccup said. "Thank you for that, Icewing, but next time how about we tell them a bit softer okay? They are scared. We don't want to scare them more." He looked back to the Nadders. "It's okay. You can nuzzle against me. I don't mind."
The young Nadders chittered and shuffled closer. Firestorm lifted his head and the bigger of Ringfire's hatchlings rose to sit on his tail behind Hiccup. Both chittered invitingly to the Nadders. The Nadders looked at both then up to Toothless. Hiccup heard his brother warble something that sounded soft. The Nadders squeaked and moved along Hiccup's right side. Each picked a spot and curled up next to him, purring softly. Firestorm lowered his neck again, placing his chin upon Hiccup's shin. The bigger of Ringfire's hatchlings placed his chin back upon the top of Hiccup's head. Sharpshot hopped down, moving to sit behind Sunrise at Hiccup's left side. The adult Nadders' conversation stopped. Both parents stared down at their younglings while Skysinger and Pinpoint smiled.
[Our youngest,] the father began, [the light yellow one, got lost in a cave system near to our den. A female Wind-shrieker found our little girl and brought her back to us.] The Nadder looked to the crowd watching. [I see both of my oldest girls here and neither look terrified. None of your kind are holding weapons to any of the dragons here.] He looked back to Hiccup. [My daughter calls you her alpha yet you are a willing roost for those hatchlings and actively encouraged those younglings to gather close to you. You did this in order to calm my younglings. Forgive me the inquiry, alpha of the nest, but who are you? What are you? You stand and talk like a human but you're acting like a dragon right now.]
"I'm just Hiccup, sir."
Kirika: Yep, dreaming is free. Hehe, it does get me strange looks when my eyes glaze over. My grandmother asks me at times what I'm doing when that happens. I tell her I'm writing a scene in my head. Hn, none of the teens will be asked to watch the hatchlings. They'll have to be free to do other things. You'll see. As for the new Nadders, well, I think the parents are not sure what to make of all this.