Lexie sat with her father, swirling her soup around in silence. She didn't know when they would be together again. Stoick was departing for another quest in the morning, searching for the elusive dragon nest.
"Hey dad?" Lexie asked. Stoick looked at her. "Do you think Hiccup really did hit a Night Fury?"
"I think he thinks he hit a Night Fury." Stoick said. "But Vikings have been trying to catch that beast for generations. Did Hiccup succeed?" He shook his head. "That boy's just got too many ideas. He needs to learn that ideas don't make a viking. And you can't encourage his imaginary games. It's not healthy. He needs to build up his strength, so the wind won't knock him over so much." Lexie chuckled at his jest, but she disagreed.
"Well, he's not doing that smithing all day." Lexie muttered. Stoick was quiet for a moment, seeming to debate about telling her something.
"I spoke with Gober today." Stoick decided to tell her. "He and I think it'll be best to put Hiccup in dragon training with you." Lexie's eyes widened to the size of a cow's.
"Hiccup?!" Lexie exclaimed in shock.
"I know, it's not ideal." Stoick said. "But I won't be here forever, and he needs to learn to toughen up. Plus, it's good for him to be around kids your age."
"But kids my age will beat him to a pulp." Lexie argued.
"Well, that's why I'd really appreciate it if you kept an eye on him." Stoick said, trying to gauge her reaction.
"Babysitting duty?" Lexie groaned. She had really been looking forward to dragon training as an opportunity to prove herself. Not to mention, she'd get to hang out with her friends. Hiccup would just get in the way and make a fool of her.
"Just try to make sure he's not killed." Stoick corrected. When she wouldn't meet his eye, he gently guided her chin with his hand to look her in the eye. "Will you do this for me?"
"Alright." Lexie sighed, knowing she couldn't let her father- and chief- down.
"That's my girl." Stoick said, giving Lexie an affectionate nudge.
Lexie returned to her soup. A creaking noise made her look up, seeing Hiccup return. Based on his facial expression, she wondered how much he had overheard. "Hey." Lexie spoke up, causing Hiccup to jump. "How'd it go?"
"Oh, uh…" Hiccup seemed nervous, or maybe just embarrassed. "You know how it is. I just…" he hit his head on a beam in his eagerness to get upstairs. "Ow. um, yeah. G'night."
"Don't you want something to eat?" Lexie called up.
"No...myself, er, I'm fine." Hiccup called down.
"That went well." Stoick commented, closing the door that his forgetful son had left open. "Maybe not ideal, but…"
"Is it just me, or does he seem a bit jumpy?" Lexie pointed out.
"Don't worry, i've got it." Stoick reassured her. He poured a new bowl and walked up the stairs, going to talk with Hiccup. Maybe it was the talk of protecting him, or maybe it was some kind of twin-intuition, but Lexie suspected something more than what was overheard was bothering Hiccup.