So, I'm sure you're all wondering how Stoick came to an understanding with a creature he can't understand. An excellent question, indeed. Allow me to break it down for you.
What Sky REALLY did when he saw Toothless go down
Sky was having a whale of a time blowing things up on Outcast Island, perhaps even too much fun, really, and he was considering how to bring this up to Hiccup when they returned to Berk, if he would be allowed to destroy things on a regular basis. That might make life with humans a bit more bearable. Just as he was preparing to swoop past them with a giddy battle cry when he saw the bola come flying out of nowhere and froze in midair, watching them fall helplessly. Of course he could have tried carrying them, but there was no way he could support the weight of both Toothless and Hiccup all the way back to Berk. They'd all drown in the ocean if he tried. But there was one far more realistic alternative. If he could convince Flamewing... But no, that wouldn't work, either, Flamewing would overreact to his tail and wouldn't listen to anything he tried to say edgewise. And so, he found himself wondering, "What would Hiccup do?" Well, the same thing he did every time something went wrong. Something crazy, potentially suicidal, and just insane enough to work.
He'd actually gotten this idea directly from Hiccup himself, the fact that, even without speech, it is possible for humans and dragons to understand one another on some level, and he was trusting that the story Hiccup had told Pixie and the other hatchlings when he finally arrived back on Berk. It was still the middle of the night, and he'd made good time, as he was in a bit of a hurry. Without much difficulty, he located the home of Stoick the Vast and Hiccup and entered through the skylight window that was intended for Toothless to get in and out of Hiccups room. From there, he went downstairs and made quite the ruckus, knocking things over with his tail as he tried to figure out where Stoick's room was. Eventually, the noise got to the man, who came out in his pajamas with an axe in hand, prepared to defend his home against an intruder, but was surprised when his eyes fell on the shadowy outline of a Night Fury. "Toothless? What are ya doin' down here?" Lighting a nearby candle, the chief found that it was not Toothless, but rather Sky who was rooting around his home. "Sky... Where is Hiccup?" He asked, suddenly very awake.
Sky whimpered and looked up at him concerned, "The Outcasts got to him and Toothless," He replied, though he knew the man wouldn't understand. Neither of them moved for several minutes until finally, Sky, sick of wasting time, circled around behind Stoick and forced his head between the man's legs before bolting out the door and taking to the sky, "If I can't tell you, I'll just have to showyou!" Of course, he knew that he and Stoick couldn't take on an entire island alone, and he was also all too well aware of the fact that the other dragons wouldn't trust his word, so he'd have a hard time convincing them to come along. No, he'd have to try something far more drastic.
Stoick, who seemed to have gotten the idea, was holding onto Sky for dear life, "Where are ya goin', ya crazy dragon?! We can't take on the Outcasts alone, we have to go back and get help!" Sky hissed over his shoulder and continued flying, and it was then that Stoick realized, "This is the way to the Isle of Night, isn't it? Yer goin' to them for help?" This time, Sky let out a loud trill in response, hoping the noise sounded affirmative. The whole rest of the agonizing, eight-hour flight consisted almost entirely of Stoick complaining about how they shouldn't be looking to the enemy for help and him praying to the Gods for a solution while Sky did his best to tune the man out. He was now beginning to get a better understanding of what Toothless and Hiccup went through every day with this man. Living with humans was back to sounding like a bad idea again.
Regardless, they eventually made it to the island where Sky used the Night Fury call to lure his family out of their cavern. Flamewing and Moonsilver, being the alphas, were the first to come out and investigate. "Sky?" Moonsilver recognized the younger Night Fury immediately and ran to him, "Oh, what happened to you, poor thing!" She nuzzled under Sky's chin and began licking the gash on his head. Apparently she hadn't noticed the tail just yet.
Flamewing was a bit more uncertain, "Why have you brought a human?" The alpha challenged, "Have they brainwashed you, too?"
Sky flinched and recoiled from Moonsilver's tongue, "It's not like that, they-" Unfortunately, in his scramble backwards, Sky had inadvertently drawn his tail in front of him, allowing Moonsilver and Flamewing to see the prosthetic.
Flamewing growled, "You're no different than my traitorous son!" With this, he lunged at Sky's tail, and the Night Fury yelped, but was surprised when Stoick came between them.
"STOP!" Stoick commanded. In his experience, the best way to get anyone or anything to do what you wanted was yelling at the offender with gusto. This worked for a moment until Flamewing remembered that he ought to be offended by a human addressing him and began spitting nasty insults in dragonese, but Stoick held his hand up to silence him, "Listen, I know what you're thinking, I know how you feel. 'Only the strong can belong,' right? I know, I used to think the same..." Flamewing fell silent, though he was still glaring daggers at the man. "You've got a whole pack to take care of, what's the point in keeping another mouth to feed? They'll just get in the way, and they don't even make up for it in battle... But I'm here to tell you, that isn't true. Generation upon generation of Viking heroes have had disabilities like Sky's, they've lost a leg or an arm, but sometimes with the help of a false limb, they can walk again. They can fight again. And let me tell you, a man with an axe for an are can be far more formidable than a man carrying an axe. Although I suppose that's not exactly true for Sky," He glanced over his shoulder at the dragon, "It's probably not true for Toothless, either, or even my own son, Hiccup... Yet they are the hope for the future of our tribe. And do you know why that is, Flamewing? Because of their minds." The chief pointed to his own helmet to demonstrate, "Sometimes being physically weak brings out other aspects of people- and dragons. Like Hiccup, for example. He wasn't strong enough to properly carry an axe, let alone fight a dragon- and because of that, we have found peace with the dragons, aside from you lot."
"And Toothless is no different!" Stoick went on, "Hiccup told me a little story Toothless told him. Now, I heard that Toothless destroyed the other eggs of your clutch, isn't that right?" Moonsilver whimpered at the memory and turned to leave, not wanting to hear any more of this conversation. "But you never asked him why he did that, did you?" She paused, listening. "Sometimes they do things we don't understand because they figure these things out before us. They don't think like we do, they don't act like we do, they don't even have the same morals as us. Toothless did have a reason, and it was NOT to betray you... He had a suspicion that the eggs of your clutch were sabotaged, and wanted to see the truth for himself."
Flamewing snorted indignantly, "Sabotaged? What does he take us for, savages?!"
Sky's earplates slicked back against his head at this, his eyes downcast as he pawed at the ground nervously. He hadn't been expecting this turn of events. "And do you know what ELSE?" Stoick went on, his voice rising with the anticipation of revealing this long-kept secret, "Toothless was right! He found that all of the other eggs in your clutch had been torched! All that was left was charred remains of what would have been his siblings." With this, the man grabbed Sky by thee scruff of his neck and dragged him forward, "Don't take my word for it. Sky, if what's happened in these past few days means anything to you... Tell them what happened to their children. They deserve to know."
Sky whimpered and tried to back off, but found his path blocked by Stoick. Pressing himself to the ground, he averted his gaze, looking anywhere but at Moonsilver and Flamewing, who were drawing nearer, "Sky? What is this simpleton talking about?" Moonsilver asked softly, her gentle voice gaining a bit of an edge.
"I.. I'm sorry," Sky managed, "I just... I wanted to stay in Flamewing's good graces as the most promising... I thought maybe if I... If I could just eliminate the threat, no one would ever know... But Toothless, I didn't keep the fire on him long enough because I heard you coming to check on them- I never meant any harm!"
Enraged, Flamewing charged at Sky, but again, Stoick came between them, "Hold on! I know you probably want to kill him- I know I've wanted to for some time now, myself, but if you understand what really happened, then you know that Toothless is not to blame for his plight. All those years living in exile, and none of it was his fault." Flamewing froze, considering this, "And now, they're in danger. Our sons, in an insane attempt to get the three of us 'alphas' on the same level, attacked the Outcasts, and have, apparently, been kidnapped. Sky knows more details on that than I do- he's the one that came to get me in the first place. Coming here was his idea."
"They got hit by a bola launched from a machine like the one that got me before," Sky explained, "I was helping them, I'm trying to change, I want to make it up to them... That's why I brought this man here, I'm trying to make amends... I know nothing I can do can ever make up for it, but... I really am sorry, and I'm trying my best..."
"Never mind that now," Flamewing growled, still quite clearly later, "The time for talking has come to an end. EVERYONE! It's time for war!" At this, a horde of Night Furies raced out of the cavern and lined up in an orderly fashion behind Flamewing and Moonsilver, and, moments later, Stoick was on the back of Flamewing, soaring through the night sky. It was poetic, really, chief and alpha working together to rescue their misunderstood sons who had intended to bring everyone together in the first place.
And THAT is how it went down. Now, I ask again, please tell me what you thought about my "what just happened" technique now that you've seen what's come of it. Also, I know this was another short chapter, but I prefer to think of the two of them as almost one, because really, this one took place at an earlier time than the last, I just kinda screwed with the orders to mess with you all. (Which is why I ask what you thought.)
Also tell me what you thought about this chapter in general. I thought it was really epic, myself, how Stoick was able to handle the dragons and how Sky still hasn't been murdered. How many times can one dragon narrowly escape murder? Oh, and HAPPY CHAPTER 20! And 100+ reviews!