The king moved back to stand next to his mate. The queen nuzzled him then looked to the dragons still standing away from the others.
[Please join your alpha,] she said before looking to Hiccup. [Please, make yourselves comfortable.]
Hiccup smiled as the other dragons came closer. Stormfly sat down near to Astrid, only separated from her rider by Toothless' tail. The young Nadder sat next to her. Shadowfire moved around them and laid down in a straight line behind his mother. She sat down and leaned against his foreleg. Toothless shifted back a bit and laid down. Hiccup and Astrid sat down, leaning back against him. Sharpshot moved around to lay in the sand near to Hiccup's knee.
The queen smiled and then chirped. The Changewing guards chittered back at her. She tilted her head then looked around trilling something that sounded questioning. The guards responded. The queen blinked then looked to Hiccup and tilted her head.
[You have managed to intrigue my warrior guards,] she said. [They are requesting to be allowed to remain and hear the rest of your tale.]
"I'm sorry," Hiccup said, worried he had offended the queen.
The queen laughed. [Do not fear, young alpha,] she said. [I am actually happy about it. As you said, the war caused issues for everyone. It is a good thing that they wish to know more about you and your nest. Your nest is close to ours and you have already shown your honor and wisdom both in saving my son and in aiding the Scaulding-spitter, even to the point of letting them rest near to your nest.]
The queen chirped and the guards responded with a trilled noise that sounded happy.
Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "Um, okay," he said. He looked to Toothless. "Wanna continue, bud?" he asked, not all that comfortable giving his story.
He had not wanted to be the storyteller when they told the Elders but he had promised them. While he technically promised the queen as well, Toothless had already begun. Toothless smiled and turned back to the royal pair.
[Brother came back to the cove,] Toothless said, [bringing me a single fish.] Toothless tilted his head and curled his neck. [Brother, why only one that day? You brought a small catch after that.]
Hiccup blinked. "Um, one fish was all," he paused and cleared his throat. "It was mine. The others I fished for. The eel though I got from the Great Hall."
Toothless stared at him. Hiccup watched as his brother's eyes widen.
[Brother, that fish was your share of your nest's catch that day? And you gave it to me? Why?]
Hiccup squirmed. "You were hungry and I.." His voice trailed off.
[You?] the queen prompted.
Hiccup sighed, knowing he would not get out of this. "I'm used to eating just the evening meal."
"Hiccup?" Astrid questioned.
Hiccup grimaced. "It was made clear to me that eating with the tribe more than once unless I had to be there made people ill," he whispered slowly and softly, fighting to push each world past dead lips.
["What?!"]
Hiccup jerked as all his human friends, all the Berkian dragons, and the royal flock shouted that question in one voice.
[Brother?] Toothless asked.
"Who, Hiccup?" Astrid questioned at the same time.
Hiccup closed his eyes. "It was a long time ago. Just before I turned thirteen. It doesn't matter now."
He felt Astrid's hand as she gently squeezed his arm. "Who, Hiccup? Please tell me."
"Oh, no," Fishlegs moaned. "I think I know. Baneson, He made a big deal about being the one to keep the morning and mid-day meals," Fishlegs paused and closed his eyes in a wince, "nuisance free," he finished in a whisper.
Hiccup flinched. He heard Astrid suck air through closed teeth.
"Why?" she asked and her tone told Hiccup she would not stop asking until she found out the reason.
Hiccup sighed. "He blamed me for his father."
"But you didn't kill Wolfsbane," she protested. "A dragon did."
"His axe shattered. It was my job to maintain them. Wolfsbane wouldn't let me touch his. He said I would curse him in battle if he let me work on his weapon. I should have insisted. It was cracked. I could see the cracks. He wouldn't listen. He…he just walked away."
"Hiccup, please look at me."
Hiccup opened his eyes and looked up at her. She framed his face with her hands.
"It wasn't your fault. Wolfsbane knew your job was to maintain and keep weapons sharpened. He chose to disregard Gobber's orders and paid for it."
[I think I'm beginning to see why you strove to prove yourself to the other humans,] the queen said. [This Baneson that kept you from eating with your nest-mates, has he seen the error of his ways and apologized?]
Hiccup pulled his face from Astrid's hold, though he wanted to remain with her hands on his skin. Her touch was fast becoming as addicting as her presence. He turned to the queen.
"No, ma'am," he said. "He and his mother left the island before I met Toothless so he does not know everything that has happened."
[He left the nest?] the king asked.
"Uh, no. He and his mother are still apart of the tribe but her family is from another..er.. nest. Her brother passed away and she and Baneson went to spend time with her mother and other siblings."
[So, it is likely he will return?] the king asked.
"Yes," Hiccup said, slowly. "I think they are due back before the first snowfall."
[I see,] the king said, eyes narrowing into slits. [Your brother spoke of your father, young alpha. Did he not reprimand this Banson?]
Hiccup winced. "Dad…Dad, didn't know. I never told him."
The king blinked. [Why?]
Hiccup looked down at his metal leg. "Dad never listened to me," he whispered. "Not until . .. until I woke up after the battle at the fallen queen's nest."
[Woke up?] the queen asked.
"I lost my leg in that fight and was put into a healing sleep by our Elder."
[This fight?] the son began, [how did it go?]
Hiccup sighed, closing his eyes. Toothless cooed.
[My brother won the right to kill the Flame-skin that left here.] Toothless said. [In doing so, he angered the female who will become his queen. She sought him out and found out about me. To keep her from telling on us all, brother directed me to catch her when she ran. He wanted to show her the beauty and majesty of dragons. I wanted to give her a life lesson on attacking my kin.]
[What did you do?] the king asked, tilting his head.
Toothless chortled. [Every insane flying trick that I knew.]
The king blinked and began to cackle. [Oh, to have seen that show.] The king looked to Astrid. [I take it you either apologized or came to some form of a truce, given that you were still here and soon to be the queen of the nest.]
"I apologized and Toothless began to fly calmly," Astrid said. "I got to touch a cloud and saw our village from the skies. I couldn't think of dragons as the monsters we were taught they were after that."
[Unfortunately, in my zeal to teach her, I strayed to close to the fallen queen's nest and could not get free of a returning raiding flock before we all wound up in the nest. That is how brother and Lady Alpha learned of the true reason for the raids and what she did to those who did not bring enough food back.]
"She ate a Rock-biter," Hiccup whispered, "all because it had a single fish. She ate a Double-mind while trying to get to us after she realized we were there and the whole nest panicked."
[I see,] the Changewing queen said. [And is that when you fought her?]
[No,] Toothless said. [I returned them to the cove. Lady Alpha wanted to call the humans warriors. Brother worried they would kill me and asked for a day.] Toothless looked towards Hiccup and tipped his head.
Hiccup sighed. Toothless knew what happened at the arena but the Changewings did not know that. "I faced Hookfang, the Flame-skin, and tried to show my tribe that dragons were not monsters to be killed. Dad spooked him and, in the chaos, Toothless came to defend me. He was captured and I.. I was disowned."
[Disowned?] the king asked, eyes again slitting. [Your father?]
Hiccup winced. Astrid leaned over and curled her arm around his waist.
"Tell them, Hiccup," she whispered. "It will help them understand."
Hiccup took a deep breath. "He said I had thrown my lot in with the dragons and was no Viking and no son of his."
The king gave a low growl. Hiccup jerked and stared at him.
[A father does not act that way,] the king said. [Not an honorable one. You did no wrong, young alpha. Even if you were at war, giving and granting mercy is a noble thing. Only monsters seek to kill and destroy all.]
"Dad's apologized," Hiccup said quickly. "And he's changed. It's not a perfect relationship that he and I have now, but we're working on it. Together."
The king stared at Hiccup for a long moment then nodded his head. [Should that ever change, young one, I will gladly become the father you need.]
Hiccup blinked. "Um, thank you," he said, not really sure what to say.
The king tipped his head once but did not look to his mate or his other children. Hiccup looked to Toothless only to find him giving his gummy smile. Toothless then looked to the queen.
[I was strapped to one of the human's water dens and then taken back to the fallen queen. All but a few of the humans went with us and attacked the mountain. The dragons inside fled. Not that I blame them. None of us wanted to protect that female anymore. The humans' attack and the dragons fleeing caused her to fight and just before she could kill my brother's father, my brother and the other human younglings arrived on dragons. It ended up that my brother and I faced that fallen queen ourselves. Brother directed me to trick her into the skies and shoot her wings. We taunted her to dive at us and when she built her gas, I spun and fired into her throat. She tried to stop her fall but the fire inside and the damage to her wings caused her to hit the ground and explode.]
[You fired the final shot?] the daughter asked.
[On my alpha's order,] Toothless replied.
[I see,] the queen said, looking to Hiccup. [The dragons of that nest now see you as their alpha due to you killing the fallen queen. And given the Spike-thrower's story, I understand why he is so loyal to you or why he said he did not want to live anywhere else.]
She shared a look with her mate and he nodded his head. She then looked to her children. The son quickly nodded his head. The daughter stared at Hiccup for a long heartbeat then looked to her mother.
[I don't think we could do better, mother,] she said.
The queen tipped her head then faced Hiccup. [You have shown me you are an honorable human and have proven my son was correct in his praise of you. We are all in agreement with this, our nest stands as allies to yours, young alpha.]
Hiccup blinked. "You're sure?" he asked shocked.
The queen smiled. [We are sure. Do you accept?]
"Yes," Hiccup said. "Uh, do have I to do anything?"
The queen chuckled. [No, just agreeing has finalized the agreement.] She looked over her wing. [Tell the other warrior guards,] she ordered. [The young alpha and his nest are welcomed and should any be in need of aid, all are to aid them. Should any be attacked, all are to defend them.]
[Aye, my queen,] every Changewing warrior guard, even the one who shot at Hiccup before, coursed.
Hiccup blinked though he noted all the Berkian dragons but the young Nadder looked a bit surprised and a lot proud. The young Nadder looked around then looked to Hiccup and smiled. Fishlegs lifted his gaze from the journal and Hiccup watched as his friend realized just what this meant. Gyda was grinning. Astrid smiled at him proudly. Hiccup faced the queen. He tipped his head.
"Thank you," he said.
[No,] the queen said. [Thank you.]
Kirika: Hehe, the Changewing Elder is a lot like Gothi. It shall be interesting when those two meet, do you think?