Hiccup awoke to crooning dragons. He blinked sleep from his eyes and found his brothers looking out the roof opening. He set up, reaching for his metal leg and strapping it on before getting out of the bed and moving over to his brothers. He shivered as a cold gust blew some snow into the opening. Sharpshot, sitting on top of Toothless' head, looked at him.
A shrill scream reverberated the room, and Hiccup's skull, before his brother could say anything. Hiccup stuck his head out the opening, shivering in the biting wind and feeling snow gather upon his head. The scream echoed again. Hiccup spun and hurried down the stairs and out of the house.
Stoick grabbed him just as his metal leg hit an icy patch and he began to fall. Hiccup grunted, shaking his leg and muttering under his breath. His father did not respond. Hiccup frowned, looking up. The scream echoed again, sounding closer. Toothless and Sharpshot rounded the corner of the house just as Mulch and a clearly distressed Bucket came up the stairs from the plaza. Hiccup frowned. Bucket was holding his head and wailing in pain as Mulch aided him to walk.
"Mulch?" Stoick asked as the men reached them.
"Oh, Chief, Bucket's bucket be tightenin' up 'gain. Ye know what means?"
Stoick sighed, running a hand over his face. He looked down at Hiccup.
"Son, ye best tell the dragons ta settle in."
"Dad?"
"Bucket's bucket only be messin' with him when the weather goes bad."
Hiccup blinked then nodded his head as he realized what his dad meant. "I'll fly out to the Elders and talk with them."
[The male can tell the weather?] Toothless asked.
"Uh, not really," Hiccup said. "His bucket tightens around his head when the weather will be bad, be it a severe rainstorm or a snowstorm."
Bucket hollered again, curling down with his hands clenching his head.
"Ooh, the tighter the bucket, the wors'r the storm," Mulch cried.
[Really?] Sharpshot asked, hopping onto Toothless' back since Hiccup had not put the flying harness on before rushing out of the house.
"Bucket's bucket predicted the Blizzard of Olaf," Mulch said. "Took us week ta dig Mildew outta dat ice."
[Why did you do that?] Toothless asked. [Lizard was better off buried in that ice.]
"Toothless!" Hiccup cried.
[Right, that's an insult to lizards.]
"Spent the rest of me life wonderin' why we did it, ta be honest."
"Mulch," Stoick said a slight warning in his tone.
"Bah," Mulch said. "Chief, ye know I never liked dat old farmer."
Stoick sighed. "I know, but at the time he was still a member of the tribe." Stoick looked down at Toothless. "Tribe helps tribe."
Hiccup saw Toothless sit down and stare at Stoick. One eye narrowed while the other remained open and it gave the effect that Toothless was lifting an eyebrow.
"We ain't perfect," Stoick said still staring at Toothless, "but when a mistake be revealed we do fix it."
"Toothless let's go get your saddle so we can go talk to the Elders," Hiccup said before his dragon brother could respond to Stoick's comment.
Hiccup knew why Toothless had stared at Stoick as if he did not believe the words spoken. If tribe truly helped tribe like Dervla told that Nadder four days ago, then Toothless would question why the tribe did not help Hiccup before he arrived on the island. Hiccup did not want that argument. It was not needed, not now. His father was not perfect, far from it, but was actively trying to change and make up for what happened before.
Hiccup knew when stress piled upon him, his mind listened to the fear of the past returning. He realized that while holding and speaking to Astrid four days ago. Astrid did not leave him any of the times he thought she would. His feelings for her were normal and not a sign he had something wrong with him. The tribe, with a few exceptions, did not treat him like they did before. Except for his grandfather and Bearspit, the tribe listened to him when he spoke. His father listened to him when he spoke. His father trusted him to lead the island when he left. Listening to Astrid as she listed all of these moments, Hiccup realized that each time fear whispered into his ear, the opposite of his fear happened.
Hiccup wanted to get to a point fear's voice was so dim as to not be heard. Constantly revisiting old wounds that were healing did not help.
Toothless sputtered but Hiccup headed into the house anyways. He hurried up the stairs and gathered Toothless' saddle rig. He went to go back down but stopped. After the Flightmare's cleared his father's name, Fintan installed a wooden landing platform just beyond the opening. Hiccup heard a thump and the familiar sound of his brother grumbling in the Old Tongue, though Hiccup did not know how he knew the warbling-hiss with a slight growl behind it meant grumbling.
[Brother,] Toothless began, siting down and lifting his forelegs up so he could stare into Hiccup's eyes.
Hiccup sighed. "He's trying, Toothless. I know he's trying. Bringing it up again will just make him feel bad."
Toothless sighed. He let his forelegs fall back to the wooden planks. He then padded over and nuzzled against Hiccup.
[I'll drop it,] he said. [I don't think I'll ever understand no matter how many times I ask anyways.]
Hiccup snorted. Toothless chortled. He shifted so Hiccup could place the saddle and fake tailfin on. As Hiccup ensured each line was not twisted or pinching his brother, Sharpshot landed upon the window.
[Your father was called away by Gobber. Sven's sheep are out again.]
Hiccup groaned. "That's what – six times this month alone?"
[I counted seven,] Toothless replied.
Hiccup grunted. "Need to figure out a better fencing for Sven. The village can't really handle panicking sheep racing through the streets."
"Why not try a different race?" a new voice said.
Hiccup looked up, finding Astrid standing on the walkway behind Sharpshot. Sneaky hopped down from her shoulder next to Sharpshot. Stormfly lowered her head in a brief bow from her place behind Astrid.
"What different race?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid grinned, jerking her thumb towards her dragon. "Stormfly and I are challenging you and Toothless to something we learned about yesterday while on patrol.
"Oh, and what is this thing you both learned of?" Hiccup asked, smirking.
"Pinpoint and Skysinger were out flying while Stormfly, Sneaky, and I were heading over the north bay. Pinpoint saw the snow on the mountain and said he and Skysinger used to slide down a snow-covered mountain near her parent's den when they were younger and before both left and found that monster's nest." Astrid paused then stared at Hiccup and smirked. "So, me and Stormfly versus you and Toothless. First to slide on their belly down the mountain wins. Sneaky and Sharpshot can help. One can see that we leave the point we choose as the start together and the other can see Stormfly and I pass the point we decide is the finish line."
Hiccup lifted an eyebrow. "Stormfly and you?" he asked.
Astrid shrugged and winked at him. "We're on the ground. Toothless is the fastest dragon in the air."
[I can be fast on the ground too, you know,] Toothless protested.
Astrid placed her hands upon her hips and smirked. "Prove it."
Toothless gasped. He stared at Hiccup. [Brother, are you going to allow this?] he asked, his tone scandalized but Hiccup could tell his brother was teasing again.
Toothless' eyes dilated to their fullest and a slight chortle rested as an undertone in his voice. Hiccup looked from his brother to his intended and smirked.
"Let's find some sheep, speak to the Elders about Bucket's warning, and see who is the fastest sliding down the mountain," he said.
Kirka: Um, Hiccup wasn't fighting an urge to mark Astrid. He was more fighting an urge to scream at the top of his lungs because of all the stress he was under right then and a fear that still eats at him cause of his past. The thing within Hiccup was helping to fight but needed Astrid there to fully gain control of that fear. The thing within Hiccup doesn't need to mark Astrid anyways. It knows she loves Hiccup. That's why it roars in protest when fear tries to tell Hiccup she will leave him.