"They're joining back up around the white one!" Ruffnut noted as they stared, transfixed, at the recently-discovered dragons that had been inhabiting their chosen island.
"He must be the leader!" Hiccup added, watching as the innumerable little dragons flocked together, joining seamlessly into one giant form. "This is amazing," he murmured. But then, out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw movement. Ruff and Tuff were flying Barf and Belch straight into the mass of little dragons.
"Guys, what are you doing?" he admonished, but the twins had already put their plan in motion. As Hiccup looked on, they each held one end of a net, reaching out in perfect synchronism. And in one fluid movement, the white dragon was captured. The black dragons dispersed in an uncoordinated cloud, and Barf and Belch turned back to the direction of camp.
"Bam," Tuffnut announced smugly. "Problem solved. All right; let's head home." And so saying, he and his sister led the way back to camp, streaking off into the night, triumphant and enthused. Hiccup stayed behind a moment longer, watching the remaining dragons scatter, the unfortunately-familiar sense of unease burrowing itself in the pit of his stomach.
"I don't know about you, bud," he muttered darkly to Toothless, "but I've got a bad feeling about this." And with one last glance at the retreating dragons, the pair turned and sped towards home. Hiccup sighed, sure that their capture of the dragons' leader would have some unintended consequences. But there was no use worrying about it now; if anything did happen, they would deal with it when it came up. Until then, there was no point being bothered with it.
Catching up to the twins, Hiccup watched the two of them warily as they cheered and celebrated, the white dragon still caught in the net held between them. Hiccup thought back to the dragon's capture, and realized, quite suddenly, that there was something very rare about that moment. It was surprising - very surprising - but Hiccup had seen it nonetheless. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, cooperating.
With all their arguing and bickering and bantering - not to mention their frequent physical attacks on each other - it was hard to imagine the two of them ever getting along at all. Tuff directed their dragon one way, while Ruff directed it the opposite way. Ruff wanted their huts painted orange, while Tuff demanded only green. And if Tuff wanted to go first in a dragon training exercise, Ruffnut argued vehemently to go last. Hiccup couldn't even count the number of times he had thrown himself exasperatedly in between the two, as they raised axe, mace, sword, anything in a desperate bid for bodily harm.
But this disagreement and discord that the twins so often displayed was not what Hiccup had seen just moments ago. In a crazy twist of circumstance, Hiccup had seen the other side of their relationship - the well-hidden, oft-unobserved, and completely unexpected side. Charging into the group of unfamiliar dragons, the twins had lifted their net unthinkingly, instinctively. They reached out as one person, rather than two, and snatched the lone white dragon out of the air with startling smoothness. They had moved simultaneously, with unspoken agreement, and they had operated in perfect harmony. It was astonishing (and eye-opening) to witness.
Barf and Belch dived suddenly, aiming for their newly-chosen campsite, and the twins cheered once more, banging their heads together in their own special way of celebrating. It was strange, Hiccup noted, but the twins did have an odd sort of unity. Like they operated on their own weird wavelength, unfathomable to the other dragon riders. Hiccup hadn't really noticed or paid much attention to it before, but now it was exceedingly clear. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were simply in tune with each other. Remarkably so.
Smiling quietly in the midst of his little epiphany, Hiccup gave Toothless a gentle pat, and like that, they descended, landing smoothly and soundlessly on the ground below. Sliding off the saddle in the same beat, Hiccup ran over to join the others, who were approaching the twins curiously, eager for answers. Hiccup fell into step with Ruffnut and Tuffnut just as the latter shoved the former away, sending her reeling into Hiccup, who stumbled predictably.
"I told you," Tuffnut growled, "I caught him!"
"No!" Ruff bit back, equally irate. "It was definitely me!" And then she moved - the quick, easy movement Hiccup had come to differentiate as the one that meant only one thing: weapons. With a long-suffering sigh, Hiccup grabbed her arm before she could reach for whatever weapon was hidden safely on her person, and then headed over to Tuff, sending him a meaningful look of warning.
"No weapons, guys, please," Hiccup ordered exasperatedly, and then he pushed them together so they were walking side by side once more. "I'm pretty sure you guys both caught the dragon." Yes, the twins did have an odd sort of harmony - when they wanted to. But Hiccup figured he would still be playing mediator for a long time to come.