Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon.
Chapter 3: The New Acting Chief and Second-in-command
The teens wasted no time looking for the black sheep. Ruffnut and Tuffnut decided to look for the sheep on foot. "Dark wool, dead ahead." Tuffnut said, spotting a dark animal run by. "Get it, get it, get it!" He and Ruffnut managed to corner it, only to find that it actually was a baby yak. The yak then rammed into the blonde twins shoving them both aside as it ran away.
"Stupid baby yak!" Tuffnut grumbled, rubbing his head in pain.
Hiccup and Toothless were the ones who spotted the black sheep. "Come on, bud, come on, bud. You got 'em." Hiccup said as his dragon dove down for the sheep.
Snotlout and Hookfang, who also spotted the black sheep, also dove down for it. "Don't let him get in your head!" The Jorgenson boy shouted.
It was a tight race, with Toothless getting closer to the sheep than Hookfang, when Gobber suddenly ran up in front of the sheep, trying to wave down Hiccup.
"Gobber, LOOK OUT!" Hiccup warned, but it was too late as Toothless rammed into the blacksmith/ dragon dentist, picking him from the ground.
"Should have seen that one coming." Gobber grunted, hanging onto to Toothless' head, blocking his view. Because of this, the male Night Fury accidently knocked off one of the flags that was set-up, causing it to crash into a Vikings' wheelbarrow and then crash-landed onto the ground.
"This is outrageous!" The Viking exclaimed, throwing his helmet to the ground.
"Winning! Aw, Hiccup, I'll see you later! Ha, ha, ha!" Snotlout yelled in triumph as he and Hookfang took the sheep back to Silent Svens' farm.
"Thank you so much, Gobber." Hiccup sighed, getting up. "What was so important?"
"Now let me think." Gobber said, trying to recall.
"Hiccup, get over here!" Stoick called from the steps of the Great Hall. Hicca and Midnight were with him as well.
"Ah, that's it. Chief wants to see you, says it's important." Gobber informed the boy.
"Great." Hiccup said sarcastically.
"Don't mention it." Gobber replied in a cheerful voice, giving Hiccup a pat on the shoulder before walking away.
The chief took his kids and their dragons with him to the docks as he explained the situation. "Hiccup, Hicca, I'm leaving town for a couple days on official business." He then spoke in a low voice. "I've managed to locate wood on Loki Island, that's lighter and stronger than anything we've ever seen. We're building our ship out of it." He then went back to his normal tone. "Hiccup I'm leaving you in charge. You'll be acting chief while i'm gone. Hicca, I want you to be there for them as his second-in-command. You're sole focus is-"
"Oh, let me guess, the Regatta!" Hiccup deadpanned, before he and Hicca joined their dragons to the upper level of the docks.
"Yay, for us." Hicca said in a dull tone.
"Well, don't look so excited." Stoick said to his children.
"Oh, we're excited. Oh, you know we love setting up stands and putting up banners, and getting everyone fired up to watch boats sail slooooowly across the harbor." Hiccup said with mock enthusiasm.
"Honestly dad, the only fun part in this Regatta for us is making the flags and banners with Raeda beforehand." Hicca said honestly.
"Hicca, Hiccup, we Vikings have always had something to fight about. Be it dragons, or Dagur, or Alvin. If we're not fighting something, we're fighting each other." Their father explained. Nearby two viking men started fighting with each other, using nothing but sturgeons as their weapons.
"I rest my case." Stoick said as he and the others watched the fight. "Look, the Regatta's a good way to blow off steam."
"That's sort of old. Couldn't we come up with something a bit more current?" Hiccup suggested
"Hiccup it's a tradition, and it's worked for many, many a year, thank you very much." Stoick said firmly.
"Alright, Dad, I got it. We all do." Hiccup reassured. "Right, guys?"
"Yep." Hicca answered as Toothless and Midnight warbled out 'yes'.
"Ha, ha, ha, that's my kids." Stoick said, as he got on the ship.
Hiccup and Hicca both waved goodbye as the ship as it sailed away, neither of them noticing Fishlegs suddenly behind him.
"Wow." The Ingerman boy breathed out, giving the Haddock twins a jolt.
"Fishlegs! You nearly gave us a heart-attack!" Hicca exclaimed.
"Do you know how creepy that is?" Hiccup agreed.
"Sorry, Hicca and Hiccup, I just couldn't help overhearing." Fishlegs said, turning to Hiccup. "You're in charge of the Regatta? Do you know what an honor that is? It's- it's- how do I find the words?"
"A boat race?" Hiccup supplied.
Fishlegs chuckled at that. "Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup, that's like saying a Gronckle is just a dragon."
"Aw, hey, Meatlug." Hiccup said as Meatlug walked by. He and the others then noticed the boy and Gronckle duo going under a large tent.
"What do you guys have going on over there?" Hicca questioned.
"Whoa, not so fast." Fishlegs said, holding out his arms to stop them from getting any closer to the tent. "Top secret stuff under there. Meatlug and I have been working day and night to carry on the Ingerman family tradition. It's our first Regatta. I'm finally old enough. Isn't that exciting?" Fishlegs said, getting more and more excited. "Oh, girl, just hold me!"
"Oh, I can hardly contain myself." Hiccup said sarcastically.
"Atleast someone is getting into the Regatta spirit." Hicca said.
The Haddock twins and the Night Furies decided to leave Fishlegs and Meatlug to their own devices and go to the Academy to explain the situation to the other dragon riders.
In the Academy, Tuffnut gathered the other teens and dragons to explain the new game he came up with. "So here is how it works: The sheep are hidden everywhere. Which means you can't see them."
"Hence, the hidden part?" Astrid deadpanned.
"Ooh, somebody has been paying attention. Alright. Wait where was I?" Tuffnut asked.
"The sheep." Ruffnut provided.
"Of course. The sheep are hidden but we are not." Tuffnut continued.
"Not what?" Snotlout questioned.
"Not hidden. Uh, someone has not been paying attention." Tuffnut said, rolling his eyes.
"And the goal of this game is…" Raeda trailed, gesturing for Tuffnut to continue.
"Right! Anyway, grab as many sheep as you can. If two Riders get to one sheep at the same time, you can tear it in half. Half a sheep equals half a point." Tuffnut finished.
"It actually sounds like a pretty good game, except for the sheep-tearing part." Raeda commented.
"Ah, gang I hate to be that guy, but, uh, no, there isn't gonna be any sheep-tearing in the near future." Hiccup said as he, his sister and their dragons entered the Academy.
"Why not?" Snotlout asked.
"Uh, how about because it can kill the poor sheep?" Raeda pointed out.
No, because there isn't going to be any dragon sheep racing." Hiccup said.
"Hey, who made you Chief?" Snotlout argued.
"Stoick." Astrid answered for Hiccup.
"So, who made Stoick Chief?" Snotlout asked, rolling his eyes.
No one answered that as Hiccup and Hicca stared at him in annoyance.
"Just wondering." Snotlout said quickly.
"Look guys, I've been given strict instructions to prepare for the Regatta." Hiccup explained.
"And as his second-in-command and twin, I'm backing him up on this." Hicca added.
The other teens definitely were not happy with this decision.
"Raeda, Astrid, will you two please back us up on this?" Hiccup pleaded.
Astrid sighed before speaking up. "Okay. Guys, you heard the Acting Chief, no dragon racing."
"Yep, tomorrow afternoon all focus needs to go on preparations for the Regatta." Raeda agreed.
"Thanks guys." Hiccup said, smiling in appreciation, while Hicca was looking at the board that Tuffnut used to write the rules of the dragon sheep racing.