"I really did hit one." Hiccup said.
"Sure, Hiccup." Gobber said.
"He never listens." Hiccup continued.
"Well, it runs in the family." Gobber remarked.
"And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich." Hiccup mimicked Stoick. "Excuse me, barmaid. I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here. This is a talking fish bone."
"You're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like. It's what's inside that he can't stand." Gobber said.
"Thank you, for summing that up." Hiccup said sarcastically. He opened the door and Gobber placed Kara on the ground inside.
"Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Hiccup sighed heavily.
"I just want to be one of you guys." Hiccup said. Gobber eyed him sympathetically and left. Hiccup closed the front door. And ran straight out the back door. He hurried off into the woods, determined. Little did he know that Kara was awake again, and she was right on his tail.
"Either we finish them or they'll finish us! It's the only way we'll be rid of them! If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave. They'll find another home." He sank his blade into a large map spread on the table. The blade pierced the middle of an uncharted corner, swirling with painted sea monsters and dragons. "One more search. Before the ice sets in."
"Those ships never come back." A viking spoke up.
"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard. Now who's with me?" Stoick threw up his fist. No one followed. The crowds shifted in restless silence. Head scratches. Eyes averted. "Alright. Those who stay will look after Hiccup."
Hands jutted into the air, volunteers galore. Enthusiastic murmurs of prep and packing fill the room.
"To the ships!" Phlegma the fierce cheered.
"I'm with you Stoick!" Spitelout added.
"That's more like it." The Vikings rushed for the door, leaving Gobber and Stoick alone. Gobber gulped back the contents of his tankard attachment and scraped back the bench.
"I'll pack my undies." Gobber remarked.
"No, I need you to stay and train some new recruits." Stoick said.
"Oh, perfect. And while I'm busy, Hiccup can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to himself...what could possibly go wrong?" Stoick sank onto the bench beside Gobber, his brow burdened.
"What am I going to do with him Gobber?" Stoick asked.
"Put him in training with the others."
"No, I'm serious."
"So am I." Gobber responded. Stoick turned to him, glaring.
"He'd be killed before you let the first dragon out of its cage." Stoick said.
"Oh, you don't know that." Gobber said.
"I do know that, actually."
"No, you don't."
"No, actually I do."
"No you don't!"
"Listen! You know what he's like. From the time he could crawl he's been...different. He doesn't listen." Stoick said. "Has the attention span of a sparrow. I take him fishing and he goes hunting for... for trolls."
"Trolls exist! They steal your socks." His expression darkened. "But only the left ones. What's with that?"
"When I was a boy..."
"Oh here we go." Gobble grumbled to himself.
"My father told me to bang my head against a rock and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?" Stoick asked.
"You got a headache." Gobber said.
"That rock split in two. It taught me what a Viking could do, Gobber. He could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas! Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become." He paused. "Hiccup is not that boy."
"You can't stop him, Stoick. You can only prepare him." Gobber paused, taking in Stoick's expression. "Look, I know it seems hopeless. But the truth is you won't always be around to protect him. He's going to get out there again. He's probably out there now."
"I'm going to kill you, Dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking." He paused. "I am a viking!"
Hiccup raised the dagger, determined to prove his Viking- ness. The dragon's labored breathing broke Hiccup's clenched concentration. He opened an eye, uncertainty leaking through. The dragon held the stare. Something profound was exchanged. Finally, the Night Fury closed its eye and lowered its head, resigned to its fate. Hiccup tried to go through with it, holding the dagger aloft... fighting himself... until finally lowering it with a frustrated sigh. He looked over the dragon's chaffed rope wounds.
Kara watched the whole exchange, curious. Her ears twitched as she listened to every little sound. She was concerned that Hiccup didn't take the chance, but also proud.
"I did this." He acknowledged, shame in his voice. He turned to leave... then paused. He glanced back at the dragon, chest heaving. Hiccup grumbled. He checked over his shoulder to ensure that no one is watching, and Kara ducked to make sure he didn't know of her presence... then he hurried back to cut the ropes. The Night Fury's eye shot open. With the dragon watching his every move, Hiccup hurriedly sawed through the bola ropes. As the last rope fell free, the Night Fury suddenly pounced.
In a blur, the dragon was upon him, pinning Hiccup down, grazing his neck. Looking like it was about to kill him. Hiccup was paralyzed. The dragon's breath ruffled his hair. Hiccup opened his eyes to find the Night Fury's wolf-like stare boring into him. The exchange was intense, profound.
Kara was perched on the rock Hiccup was pinned to in an instant. Hiccup was unaware of her, and so was the dragon. Kara was ready to kill the dragon if it dared to threaten Hiccup's life.
The dragon drew a deep breath, as though it was about to torch him... then Kara let out an ear-piercing scream. It screeched back and turned, taking flight, flapping violently through the canopy of trees. It bashed against a nearby mountain side, recovered, and dropped out of view some distance away. Winded, Hiccup struggled to his feet.
"Hic, are you okay?" Kara asked, leaping off the rock. Hiccup staggered a few steps.
"I'm... fine..." And he collapsed in a faint, into Kara. She caught him and sighed. She settled more comfortably on the ground and pursed her lips in thought.
Hiccup saved a dragon's life... would he save hers if she told him her secret?