Chapter 16

Calm Before the Storm

It settles in your soul

It fills your waking thoughts

That knowledge that it's not over

When all seems still and well

The mind holds captive knowledge

That danger will come again

Another week and a half passed by, and not a sign showed of Drago, Jezebel, or the dark Bewilderbeast; not in person, or tales from traders, or "airmail" messengers. Some of the more inexperienced members of the village began questioning whether or not they would ever even show up again, but as for the elders of the village, the gang, and those skilled in the tactics of war we knew: Jezebel had something planned for a time to come, and Drago was biding his time as he waited for his ally to show herself.

The Meatheads and Bog Burglars showed up not long after Hiccup and Toothless had managed to mend themselves, and when informed of the incident with Stoick, both Mogadon and Bertha were deeply shaken. The man had a reputation throughout all the tribes, and knowing he was down for the count at that time put the seasoned chieftains on edge. They implored Hiccup, as acting chief, to contact the Uglithug and Peaceable tribes for assistance as well, as there was no telling what would come with the two formidable forces we were up against.

The last time the Hooligans had met with those two tribes, however, was nearly two years before, but when Hiccup sent out a Terror to each tribe with the request the reply was swift. Turns out, when the tribes arrived not four days later, the swift call to arms was due on no small part to two more of Hiccup's old friends: Dogsbreath of the Uglithugs and…Heather, of the Peaceables. While I knew Hiccup and Heather had kept up contact over the years I had never known she was a member of one of the tribes proper.

Unsurprisingly, the village quickly became cramped with the presence of five separate tribes, full houses and makeshift tents abounding to accommodate the populace (and lots of fish runs to keep everyone fed). Hiccup became quickly swamped with the tasks that normally Stoick would have dealt with, racing around the village with Toothless at all hours of the day. Valka, luckily, knew enough to at least lend a hand and the other chiefs were mostly able to take care of their own respective tribes, but even then for nearly a week Hiccup and Toothless were running around the village trying to keep things tied up and in order (Toothless being able to speak with the villagers became a necessary advantage at this point).

I felt terrible for the two. With everything coming up there wasn't much I was helpful with, other than continuing to help Gobber and Ember in the forge and putting an end to fights before they began, so I watched somewhat helplessly as Hiccup started running himself dry again.

Finally, it was enough: I decided the boy desperately needed a break. Back home, the Fourth of July was swiftly arriving, so I sent out calls to some of the friends who hadn't been by for a while. When the day came, they all arrived with the requested supplies: Josh, Leighton, Sarah, and a few others I had managed to round up arrived right after I was done with work and helped me begin to put together a celebration in the cove. We had it all: food, drinks, games, and chairs and stuffed objects for relaxation. Took two hours to square everything away, but once it was all ready I ordered the others to find good hiding spots and then took off myself toward the village.

The other teens had been kept out of the loop up to this point (knowing Snotlout and the Twins couldn't keep a secret to save their lives), so when I finally found them and let them know what was up, they were more than willing to help me drag Hiccup and Toothless away from the clamoring villagers. Ruff and Tuff provided the distraction while Astrid and I snuck the pair out of the village.

"You know they're going to boil over at you for taking the acting chief out of the village in the middle of the day, right?" Hiccup muttered amusedly as we flew toward the cove. I snorted in response. "Oh? And what could they possibly do to me?" I asked rhetorically. "Besides, Phlegma, Gobber, and the other chiefs know well enough what they're doing, and now that she's back with a Stormcutter behind her no one's going to cross your mother over her instructions either. If they can't let you, the nineteen-year-old who's been worn to a nub over the past two weeks, take a break then there's another issue entirely that I will deal with personally when we go back."

Hiccup sighed, but he couldn't prevent the smile that wormed its way onto his expression. "Alright, I will admit that I'm glad you dragged me away," he relented, "but what is it exactly that we're doing here?" I chuckled and looked forward. "You'll see."

As we all glided in for a landing in the cove, the friends from back home stayed out of sight as I had requested, up until I gave the signal. As the rest of the gang hopped off their dragons and looked confusedly at the various equipment set up everywhere, everyone was suddenly surrounded by popping firecrackers.

"Aahhh! We're under attack!" Tuffnut screamed, flailing his arms. "Run for your- what's so funny?"

"SURPRISE!" we all yelled, everyone jumping out from their hiding spots as we cracked up, taking in the startled reactions of the Vikings and their dragons. As the last of the firecrackers went off, I looked at Hiccup and saw the pieces finally click into place in his head. The genuine laugh that escaped him afterward made the whole thing worth it right then and there.

"Oh, oh I get it!" he exclaimed. "It's that…uh…that one holiday you guys celebrate, with the fireworks and the parades!" "You know, we have a lot of those actually," Sarah snickered. "But yes, it's the Fourth of July, and while we're all here we are going to make sure you guys have a little fun!"

The afternoon was filled with water and nerf gun fights in the cove, water balloon bombardments, firecrackers, smoke bombs, hot dogs and hamburgers, and anything else I had managed to scrounge up for the day (the cost of which I would have a major argument over with my parents, but that's a different tale altogether). As an added bonus, the friends from my world hadn't been around for quite a while so we all got in some bonding time that was sorely needed. Leighton and Sarah got into some deep conversations with Camicazi, Astrid, Heather and Ruffnut (the only time I've ever seen Ruff actually trying to be intellectual), and as Josh and Cameron helped me work the portable grill to cook the food, the conversation slowly turned into lighthearted teasing the eventually morphed into a game of tag that roped Sarah's sister Hadassah and the other Vikings into the fun.

Such an activity is entertaining enough on its own, but it became even more so when Tuff and Cami started getting inventive in their tag tactics, and truly outrageous when the dragons finally managed to figure out a way to join in safely. The tension that had been building up around us over the past few weeks, at least for that day, finally melted off, and for the first time I saw everyone truly relaxing and enjoying themselves.

When evening came, and Leighton, Josh, and the others had to head home (following cleanup; none of the Vikings would have been happy if the cove had been left looking like a college party, Hiccup especially), I still had plans in mind. With limited space that I could carry people for, I took just Hiccup, Astrid, Ember, Cami and Thuggory with me to a second celebration of sorts. Some of them had gone with my family to the services and fellowships we attended in town before, but that night it was a little different, just family and friends taking time to play games and laugh. This was the 4th, though, so as the night wore on everyone gathered outside for the finale: watching the firework displays that went off all around us in the city.

As the colored fireballs exploded in the sky, lighting up the night in brilliance, I looked around with satisfaction, seeing all of my friends with smiles on their faces. Hiccup and Astrid sat off to the side in the grass, leaning against each other as they observed the panoramic display and perfectly content; my goal had been accomplished.

"Hey," I heard off to my right, and I turned to see Cami wandering over to sit down next to me. I nodded back in acknowledgement. "Enjoying yourself?" I asked, and Cami laughed in response. "Yeah, I am. Truth be told we all needed to wind down a little," she admitted, before glancing over at Hiccup and Astrid.

"I really need to thank you for what you've done for him," she said. "And I 'm not a touchy-feely person, you know this, so don't expect these admissions to come often. But, I had feared what happened between him and Toothless would break him, and now with all the pressure from everyone he's trying to take care of…"

Cami took in a deep breath. "I was his friend well before anyone else here was; I supported him when things went bad at gatherings, I watched his crush on Astrid grow and then turn into the relationship he'd wanted," she chuckled at that, and I smirked as well; it was no secret how long Hiccup had held a flame for the warrioress. Cami looked back at me, expression turning serious. "Hiccup means a lot to me, and that he has so many people looking out for him now is something I had hoped for, for a long time. Please keep holding him up like you have been doing."

I nodded in assurance. "You don't need to worry about that Cami," I replied quietly. "You've all become like family to me; I won't let any of you fall if I can help it." Camicazi smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder, before suddenly turning and hugging me full on.

Cami didn't hug people often, so I sat there in shock even after she'd leapt up to go irritate Thuggory and Ember. Finally my senses settled, and I just shook my head in amusement, before looking up to the sky and adding a few fireworks of my own to the display.

Two days later after work, I found myself heading toward the forge again, to work on upping the Myscale production. Outside the door however, I caught two familiar voices coming from within, and waited to listen for a bit before I announced myself.

"Ye know ye don't really have any excuses te visit so rarely nowadays," Gobber drawled, pounding on something hard and metallic. "Ye have a dragon, yer always anywhere the other teens are, and ye are supposed te let yer mother know I'm stayin' out o' trouble, aren't ye?"

"Yeah, I know, but if I start showing up more often, someone will figure it out, and I want to see how long we can keep this going. I mean, we've kept it up for 19 years already." The reply came from none other than Camicazi, and it sounded like she was the only other person inside. Stormfly was nowhere to be seen, so I grinned, having an inkling of an idea where this was going already, and stayed behind the door. Sure enough, the next words out of Gobber's mouth confirmed it, and I had to do everything I could to keep from bursting out loud in laughter.

"I still don't think that's any real reason te keep from visiting yer father," Gobber muttered, "'specially since tribal feuds aren't a threat any longer." He put something into the cooling bucket and made the water hiss as if punctuating his sentence. "I only see ye maybe every couple o' months, unless we have an issue up like we do now."

"Fine, I know," Cami admitted. "Alright, look, if I can catch Hiccup or Hawken in here at the right time, both of them if I'm lucky, and get a really good reaction out of them then I'll let the secret out then and there, happy?"

Before Gobber could reply, I turned the corner and walked in, a big mischievous grin on my face. "Come on now Cami, you know such information wouldn't shock me," I announced, making both of them jump in surprise, Cami squealing like a third grader as a bonus. "But, I'm sure that we can arrange for a good laugh from Hiccup and the other teens!"

Getting over her shock, Cami pouted. "Hawken! Why is it that you always show up at the worst possible moments?" she complained. I chuckled. "Eh, it's a gift of mine, always has been. Ask my mom sometime, she'll confirm my timing skills. But, that info's been a rumor running around with the movie fans for a while now, so it doesn't surprise me." I glanced at Gobber. "Though with a recent line from the last movie, most have put the theory to rest, what a shame. Come on you two, it's easy enough to see the personality resemblances, not to mention your choice of hairstyles."

"Well at least I still have all of mine," Cami teased, earning a protest from Gobber. "But, please tell me you won't just go blurt it to Hiccup and the others?" she begged. "I want to be there, and make sure that something funny happens while I'm at it."

"Oi, Hiccup said he'd be comin' in here tomorrow te help build the armor joints and such," Gobber pointed out, pulling a cooled shoulder pad out of the cooling bucket. "He's got nimbler fingers than me, so he's better at piecing together those smaller bits. If ye have time, I know both o' ye can come by." He grinned mischievously as he set the pad down on his desk. "Might be the first time we get Hiccup te drop something on himself in years!"

I cocked an eyebrow. "So, every time something falls in here and I pop in to find Hiccup wearing a red face is what, then?" "Oh, he trips on stuff and knocks things over at a rate te fit his former rep," Gobber admitted, "but I've nae seen him miss a mark with that hammer o' his in years now." He grinned again. "Be nice te hear someone else cursin' over a flattened finger than meself fer once."

And yet another similarity between Cami and her father. Now I knew the reason why Gobber liked the method of "learning on the job" so much. Anyway: we all decided to stay together at the forge the next day after I was done working. I would be there anyway, as would Gobber, and Cami agreed to help the customers coming by so as to appear like she was supposed to be there and not planning something, and we'd all wait for Hiccup to show up. Then, we'd let Cami choose the time to spring the mother of all long-running jokes.

"Hey Hiccup, you got a second?" Cami called over innocently after the latest Viking customer left the front window of the forge. Hiccup was on the other side of the forge, grunting as he bent an arm guard into place for Heather's soon-to-be new armor set, hammering out the edges flat. Hearing Cami's question, he paused to laugh tiredly.

"Cami, in case you haven't noticed, if I did have second someone would be on their way up to me with some new village issue to straighten out," he drawled. "Eh, I'm gonna tell you anyway," Cami returned, sauntering over to the slowly growing pile or armor plates and Myscale joints soon to be fashioned into proper outfits. "It's about my father."

There was a notable pause in Hiccup's hammering, and I glanced over from where I was melting the dragon scales. Hiccup had looked up in surprise for a moment, before slowly returning to the rapidly cooling Myscale he was working on. "You're father? You've never ventured any info about him before," he said cautiously. "And I know the old customs of your tribe when it came to men." He stopped hammering again and turned to look at Cami. "Why talk about him now?"

"Because it's as good a time as any," Cami said. "I mean, he's here, I'm here." "Your father's here? Like on the island?" "Yeah, has been for a while actually."

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. "Okay, have I met him before?" "You know him pretty well, actually." "Don't see how. Who is he?"

I had set down the scales as I covered my mouth so I wouldn't spill them, desperately fighting back a laugh. Cami smiled faintly as Gobber walked back into the room with more Mysteel, and Hiccup returned to pounding the arm guard.

"Hiccup, Gobber is my dad."

THUD! "OW, holy SON OF A-!"

Hiccup bit down on his tongue to keep from finishing his sentence, cradling his newly flattened thumb and staring wide-eyed at the two blond mischief makers in front of him. None of us could hold it back any longer, and burst out in hysterical laughter.

"O-hoh yes ha ha ha! It worked!" Gobber guffawed. "First time in years! Ye should've seen the look on your face!"

Hiccup just scowled as he continued cradling his thumb, looking between the three of us. "A joke? Is that what this was, a joke? Please tell me you're just pulling some ridiculous prank on me!" he exclaimed. "Naw, but it worked as one!" Cami giggled. "Hehehe I can't believe how funny that was!"

"You mean to tell me, that for nineteen years you two have kept something like this a secret from the entire archipelago?" Hiccup blustered. "You kept this down just to pull a prank on us?!" Clearly he was still trying to wrap his head around the concept. He waved his hands in exasperation before his smarting thumb reminded him of its existence. "Ow, geez! Hawken, a little help? Okay, so sure now I see plenty of resemblance between you two knuckleheads since I know about it, but how on earth did you hid something like that for so long? Cami's the Burglar heiress after all!"

Gobber continued to chuckle, holding his sides as the joviality slowly wore off. "Bog Burglar customs, mostly," he explained. "Bertha wanted to keep our daughter's origins a secret since way back when we weren't all so peaceful with each other. After most o' the tribes became allies it just turned into our own inside joke te see how long it would take fer anyone te figure it out." He gestured at me with a snort. "Big surprise the know-it-all here managed te figure it out first, though it didn't help that he walked in on the two of us talking yesterday." "Yeah, ruined our fun there," Cami pouted, though one glance at Hiccup's expression brought the giggles back to her.

I smirked as I finally walked over to Hiccup and relieved him of the pain of his flattened thumb. "With the thousands of theories floating through the fandoms, like I said it wouldn't have shocked me much, guys." I glanced at Hiccup, who only gave a chuckle of disbelief as he turned to attempt working on the armor again. "Gee, you think you know your friends," he muttered, "and then they throw something like this at you."

Cami walked over to him and threw an arm around his shoulder. "Aw, come on Hiccup, at least you know our biggest secret now. We"-

"Hiccup, incoming!" Toothless' yell interrupted whatever Camicazi was going to say next, and we turned to see the Night Fury skid through the door. "Snotlout accidentally knocked Dogsbreath's best axe into a mud puddle, and they're on the warpath. You should probably…" his words died off as he finally noticed Hiccup's discombobulated expression and the grins on the rest of our faces. "Okay, what did I miss?" he asked cautiously.

"Toothless, did you know Gobber is Camicazi's father?" Hiccup asked simply. Toothless' head snapped up, did a double-take between the two blonds, and his eyes widened incredibly. "What? Oh, wow," was all he got out before he fainted against the doorway, sending the rest of us into fits of laughter once more.

A/N-Got the idea from another story here, and it fit well enough in my mind I had to use it...

So, what do you think? I know, not an action chapter, but I promise dark times are coming. Like the chapter states, this is only the calm before the storm...

Don't forget to leave a review!