-Chapter: VI-

-Understood-

`Dragon training was off to a great start. It lasted for a full cycle of the moon, and the first day began with a most unusual event. A Gronckle had let me go. I don't know why or how that came to be, but Gobber was adamant about knowing why...

"Well I'm here. Now to just wait." Hiccup declared. Gobber was probably busy cleaning up the ring after that days training session. What an unusual session it was. He had been sparred by a Gronckle, something even Gobber didn't anticipate. The boy was told to wait at the forge for when he comes back so that they can talk about what happened.

"I'm here, I may as well make use of it." If Hiccup was anything to come by, he loved working in the stall. It was the only place on Berk where he actually felt like he belonged. Whether it was refining scrap iron, or replacing tacks on fishing trollies, he actually felt useful for once.

He proceeded to pull damaged items off the repair table, a table that was littered with items that needed work. The system Hiccup had in place worked quite simply, even Gobber was impressed. People could dump items off at the table, leave a note attached stating the name and need, then when the work was finished, Hiccup or Gobber would drop it off with the recipient and collect the fee. No need for anyone to actually be at the stall if they needed something.

Hiccup couldn't keep his mind focused on his work though. Even something as simple as drawing out a nail was simply too much need for focus. His mind was still racing over the days events and the wait for Gobber to show up was unbearable. He always felt like he could pour out his feelings when working. Gobber was the one who suggested the journal. He sometimes caught the boy drawing out nails far too thinly when he was angry or upset, his rats-tails would start to split at the ends when he was day dreaming. His work needed focus, and he couldn't afford to have someone work in the shop who was messing up every other piece just because he couldn't keep his mind sharp.

"There you are!" Hiccup jumped at the sudden voice nearby. "I was starting to think you've run off, but there you are, working old Buckets replacement bucket.

Hiccup looked down at his hands and saw, or tried, to see the bucket he was mending. It didn't look much like a bucket, more like a cheese grater, judging by the amount of holes in it. "I uh, thought I could get my head clear by working on some things that needed it."

"Judging by the looks of it, seems they're not the only things that needed work." Gobber eyed Hiccup up and down. The boy was a mess, he couldn't complete a simple patch job without success. He needed some time before he was going to be allowed back in here.

"You're here because we need to talk, Hiccup, not to work on some clients job." Gobber turned to the back room that was closed. "In here, it's more private." Hiccup followed.

The back room of the forge was like Hiccup's personal workspace. He had his own set of workbenches, his own small fire pot*, his own anvil with stand, and his own tool rack. The two walls that the benches were up against were plastered over with pieces of paper of varying sizes. Some had notes regarding cleaning routines, some detailed over coal temperature scales. Some parchments even had drawings he's done of various locales on Berk. The cliffs to the West, the Sea Stacks to the North, an over-look of the harbour. A picture of Raven Point. Raven Point.

His mind went back to the event in Raven Point. His encounter with the Night Fury. His encounter with death and his living through it. His mind suddenly became full of memories and understandings. Just thinking about that dragon brought back so many memories, like it was a a key to his past. He remembered his Mother and the smile she would give when he came in through the door, mud and twigs covering him. He remembered the appreciation his Father had for him when his Mother was around. He remembered the sadness that took over his Father the night his Mother died. He remembered the fear in his fathers eyes when he gazed across the wounds on her body. He remembered the fear that she would not last till Morning.

He remembered those eyes. Eyes that stared into his very being. Eyes that had shown him who he was and what he had to become. Eyes that guided him to this very moment.

"Hiccup?" His thoughts were broken as Gobber tapped his shoulder. He had evidently been starring of into the papers for some time. "Midgard to Hiccup, you there?" Gobber joked.

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I my mind just slipped back for a moment there."

"More like five moments..." Gobber's voice trailed off. He never could understand the boy fully. One moment he was predictable, the next he was testing out the patience of every Viking on the island.

"Well, you're the one who wanted to talk, so let's talk." Hiccup could feel the tension in the room as strongly as he could feel the tunic on his skin. It was so strong, he couldn't bare to feel it any longer.

"Right, talk. Let's do that." Gobber pulled out a stool from the bench and sat himself down, motioning for Hiccup to do the same. "I know there's a lot on your mind, so, come one, out with it."

Hiccup could feel his stomach turning in agony with his mental state. He had to say something to get the ball rolling. "I, don't really know where to begin."

"Well, then let's begin with this morning." Gobber rested his hook-arm on the table. "You can think of me as your personal counselor. Just don't tell the others I've said that."

"I'm sorry?" Hiccup stared blankly at the man before him.

'Well it's no secret that the relationship between you are your father is not exactly in prime territory as of now."

"Is that important right now?" Hiccup felt like he was being prodded, very uncomfortably prodded. "My dads away on a hunting trip right now."

"Yes, and before he left, he told me of the conversation the two of you had that night in the longhouse."

Oh Gods! Gobber knew. "What did he tell you?" More like how did he tell you.

"He told me of your position with dragon training, and that you felt more need for the forge than the blade." Those were't Hiccups exact words, but they described the argument well enough.

"Did he remind you that I didn't get a say in the matter?" Hiccup snapped. It wasn't like him to lash out at anyone, especially Gobber. "He's always trying to get me to do things that are more 'Viking-like', instead of what I actually do." Hiccup waved off to the small forge. "...and when I don't do the things he wants, he gives me that condescending look he always gives, like some one skimped on the meat in his meal." Hiccup puffed out his chest to look larger while he tried to mimic his fathers barrel-chested voice.

"Excuse me barmaid? I believe you brought me the wrong child. I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms! Extra guts and glory on the side! This here, this is a talking fish bone!"

"See, you're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like, it's whats inside he can't stand." Gobber, again with his tactful response.

"Thank you for summing that up." Hiccup could feel like Gobber was just pushing the stake further in. "Why am I here anyways? Everyone on the island knows of me and my fathers relationship. This isn't news."

"We are here, because you experienced something that no one else has before." He referred back to the event in the ring. "When I was picking up the shields, I stopped to look over the scorch marks on the wall. You should have died then but-"

"...but I didn't. Yeah, I noticed." Hiccup interrupted. He didn't want to be reminded of what happened. He knew he would have to say something to get Gobber off his back, but he didn't know what to say. He thought it was because he himself didn't know what to think.

"I would like to know what happened. What happened in that moment when the dragon was on top of you?" Gobber placed his point.

"As I said before, I don't know what happened. I didn't even see all of it. My head was in my hands, and I was there, cowering. Cowering like the coward I am."

Hiccup could see Gobber thinking over what he said. Then he raised a thought that he understood, thought he understood. "Dragons will always, always, go for the kill..." His voice trailed off as he finished.

*fire pot* = The portion of the forge that contained the burning coals. Hiccups forge most likely is attached to the backside of the main one, to share in the bellows and such.