Gobber hummed to himself as he pattered about his workshop, sharpening weapons that had been given to him to fix the nicks in their blades. Things had been rather strange around here ever since Hiccup had washed up, he mused to himself as he studied the blade with a trained eye, turning it around and preparing to sharpen the other side. Being asked to turn Scauldron venom into an antidote notwithstanding. He knew that he should be keeping an eye on them to make sure they stayed out of trouble, but who could blame them when their dragons had been sick as sailors.

Once he was sure that the sword as sharpened enough, he turned around to place it on the stand, very nearly jumping out of his boot when he saw the Outcast boy standing there watching him. He gave a sigh, shoulders sagging as he put the blade down from where he'd been holding it up in defense. "I could have killed you, you idiot boy," he snapped, fixing his helmet. He looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What do ye want?"

"I need to make something," Hiccup started, drawing himself a little closer as he reached into his vest to pull a sketchbook out. He flipped it to the page, showing it to the older viking. "The Night Fury I shot down is missing a tail fin. I was thinking, and I'm pretty sure I have the right idea on how to fix that."

Gobber took the papers, rubbing his chin as he looked the design over. It looked a little complicated, but he pursed his lips together as his eyes roamed over it, making humming noises in the back of his throat. He looked out the corner of his eye at the boy who would have been his godson, shaking the papers at him. "You think this will get him up in the air?"

"Not without aid. He's been trying to get out of the cove since last week. Even if he has entertained the notion of getting back into the air and resuming his periodical attacks, he wouldn't be able to without my help. That's what the left stirrup is for." He pulled the papers down a bit, pointing to the one displaying the stirrups. "It'll allow me to control the tail."

Looking at the boy, he noticed the look of sincerity on his face. Only a week or so ago that face had nothing but malicious intent and it was surprising to see it stripped away. He gave a small sigh as he scratched at his head. "Do ye even know what yer doin' around a smithery?" At the blank look on the boy's face, he shook his head, placing the papers down on a bench. "I'll help you out this once, lad, but you have to promise me something."

Hiccup's brow furrowed together. "Anything."

"Talk with Stoick."

"But that."

Gobber rubbed under his eyes, letting go of the papers and taking hold of the boy's shoulders. "He might not say it out loud, Hiccup, but trust me when I say that he regretted following tradition. Every day of his life I used to see him staring out at the seas when he thought nobody was looking. He lost you, and then he lost Val two years later. If you ask me, the man's put himself through enough punishment."

The boy shrugged the older man's hands off his shoulders, looking away as he bit his lip with a small scowl. Finally, he closed his eyes. "All my life I was trained to hate him. Alvin never kept where I came from a secret. He...he used it to make me angry, so angry until I saw nothing but red. It was like a command to kill." He lifted his hand to rub at an arm, glancing down at his feet as Gobber frowned at this new information. "I can't talk with Stoick without wanting to slice his throat open and watch the blood drain from his body."

"Yikes." Gobber stroked his chin, looking at the boy with a gaze that said he was watching to see if he was lying. Hiccup glanced up at him before he looked away again. The boy was just as much a victim of Alvin as the other people that Berk's oldest and most feared enemy had conquered. "Well, I won't force you to talk to him, but I do want you to at least consider forgiving him."

"I can't promise anything," Hiccup said, shoulders raising a little in a shrug. "But I guess I can try."

"Good lad." He patted the boy on the shoulder before he inclined his head towards the door. "Now git. I'll have this rig set up in no time."

Hiccup nodded and turned to walk away before he looked back over his shoulder. "Hey, uh, Gobber?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Gobber stared after the teenager as he exited the work shop, sighing and shaking his head. "I wonder if that's the first time he's ever said thank you to anyone..." With a scratch to the back of his neck, he picked up the papers that Hiccup had left on his workbench and studied them. Welp, looked like he had a bit of a job to do...

"There you are." Hiccup looked up from where he was getting a larger wicker basket than usual onto his back, pulling the straps around his shoulders as he straightened himself, watching Astrid walk over to him. She raised an eyebrow when a fish fell out from the top of the basket, leaning down to pick it up. "That's an awful lot of fish for one dragon."

"This fish isn't just for Toothless," he replied, taking it from her when she handed it to him. He tossed it up into the air, a small gust of wind blowing over them as Fenrir swooped to catch it in her mouth, wings flapping as she set her feet on the ground, head moving as she flipped the whole fish into her mouth and swallowed it down. She moved over, sniffing at the basket with a coo. "Hey, hey, no more until we get to the cove, greedy."

Astrid smiled slightly, watching him raise his hand to scratch the underside of Fenrir's jaw. Then it occurred to her what he'd said. "You're taking her to meet him?"

"I figure she can put in a good word for me or something." Hiccup shrugged. "He still hasn't let me touch him. I figure seeing another dragon would put him a little more at ease."

"It could be dangerous," she warned, closing the distance as he hopped easily onto Fenrir's back when she tilted her wing down for him. "He could get jealous. Do you want me to come with you for backup?"

He looked at her before he raised an eyebrow. "You didn't even pass dragon training. What makes you think you can handle a five thousand pound plus Night Fury if he starts acting up?"

"Thanks for the concern, but I can take care of myself." Without waiting for him to respond, she climbed on despite the noise of protest he made, wrapping her arms around his middle. Fenrir shifted to get used to the feeling of two people on her back, plus an entire wicker basket full of fish. With a look over her shoulder that told her rider she wanted extra fish for this, she took off, wings beating as she ascended the skies.

Astrid didn't know whether she was grateful or not for the wicker basket between them, her arms barely wrapping around his middle so she hooked her fingers into the belt around his waist, holding onto him that way so she didn't go flying off of Fenrir's back. Once the Deadly Nadder eased into a stable position, she released her white knuckled grip in favor of a more loose one, looking over her shoulder at the disappearing village below them.

Hiccup was forcing himself not to direct Fenrir towards Outcast Isand as his fingers dug into the leather of her saddle. If he flew there now he wouldn't be able to tame one of the deadliest dragons known to viking kind. It was tempting. So, so tempting. He only had a week and a half left on the time limit he had set himself, but to go back now was to go back not the triumphant warrior he was going to return as. He had her on his dragon, he had her trust, but there was still so much to do before he could call his mission complete.

"Hey, Hiccup." Rearranging his face into a neutral expression, he turned his head to glance out the corner of his eye at her as Fenrir banked a soft left, starting to turn around in the direction of the cove. Astrid paused, tilting her head to look at him. "I hate to admit it, but I was wrong about you." She paused when he made a humming noise, sitting back as she tightened her grip on his belt again before she shrugged. "I just wanted to tell you that."

Fenrir landed in a clearing near the cove and waited for her riders to dismount before starting to preen herself, beak digging into her wings. Hiccup turned around to look at Astrid with a raised eyebrow, tilting his head. "Oh, so you trust me now, princess?"

She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

"One more time, princess, as usual." With a smirk, he started heading down a steep groove between the rocks, and she followed after, careful in her movements. There was just enough room for Fenrir to squeeze through after them, squawking as though calling out for them to wait for her. When they stepped into the small valley, Hiccup glanced around for signs of Toothless, setting the basket on the ground. When the Night Fury failed to show itself, he raised his voice, Astrid watching him with interest. "Gee, I packed way too much fish for just one dragon. What a shame you don't have anyone to share with, Fenrir."

Fenrir cocked her head, trilling in a noise that clearly said she wouldn't mind not sharing. Astrid coudln't help but chuckle a little before there was a thump over by a rocky ledge. Her mouth hung open when she saw the dragon, who tilted his head at seeing the new human and dragon. His hackles raised, showing a gummy maw before his teeth slid out, eyes narrowing. Fenrir cooed over to him and he reared back, tilting his head as his eyes returned to normal. He made a noise back, ear flaps pulled against his head as he studied the new human, Fenrir trilling in reply.

"Well at least they seem to like each other," Astrid said with a small hum from where she stood next to Hiccup, hands on her hips as she studied the interaction between the two dragons. Stormfly generally got along with the other dragons but because Fenrir was a young Nadder, Toothless mightn't feel that threatened by her. He certainly looked young but there was intelligence and wisdom in his eyes that she hadn't seen in other dragons before. They were still trying to determine how to tell a dragon's age, but she could definitely say that he was older than her.

"That's a bit less dragon blood on my hands then," he said with a small grunt as he pulled the wicker basket off from his back, the wiry wooden contraption falling open after he planted his foot against it and spilled it out over the ground. Fenrir eyeballed the feast of fish before she called over to Toothless to join her as she positioned herself on one side. After a minute of thought, the Night Fury pawed his way over to the Nadder, sniffing the fish as he watched her snatch one up into her beak before following her lead.

Hiccup leaned back against a nearby rock as the dragons feasted, palms flat against it behind him before Astrid joined him, her own arms crossed over her chest and legs crossed in front of her. There was silence between the two viking teenagers, nothing but the sound of the two dragons eating and a couple of birds whistling in the afternoon sun. Orange light beamed down through the valley, glistening on the rain water forming the small lake in the middle.

"I never thought there could be days like this." Astrid looked out the corner of her eye at Hiccup, watching him heft himself up onto the rock and lean forward on his knees as he watched his two dragons. It might have been a trick of the light, but she could have sworn he looked younger, scrawnier. "This...this peacefulness, having to find something to do to fill in the day, not having to fight over food or water, not having to fight dragons."

"It could be like this every day. If you stayed," she said softly, tucking her side braid beind her ear as she looked over to where Fenrir and Toothless had finished their feast of fish and were starting to play now that their bellies were full. "I mean, assuming you were planning on finding somewhere else to live."

"Where else would there be for me?" he asked, voice equally soft as he watched them as well. "I have no home here, nor on Outcast Island. I will never forgive Stoick for what he did fifteen years ago, but I won't forgive Alvin either. They were my fathers, and they preferred to follow tradition and law over keeping their own son. If I was to go back to Outcast Island, it would be to challenge Alvin. I have no desire to take over the Outcast tribe, but someone's blood must be spilled before I'm satisfied."

"I'll go with you." When he looked at her like she was crazy, Astrid rolled her eyes. "You'll need someone to watch your back, idiot. I highly doubt Alvin will play fair."

Good. Good, she was finally falling into his trap. He smirked at her, tilting his head. "I'm flattered that you're worried about me, princess, but I can handle myself."

"I'm going and that's that." She pursed her lips together as she huffed at his idiocy. "You can't stop me."

"Fair enough, but do what I tell you to. Otherwise neither of us will make it out of there alive." Well, I will, but you'll never see the light of day or Berk again. He turned his attention to where Toothless and Fenrir were now sitting, their little playtime over with. Fenrir was making a series of trilling noises in her throat, chittering aimiably and the Night Fury had his ears perked forward from where his head was resting on his folded forepaws as though showing mild interest in what the Nadder was talking about. Toothless keened out a reply, and both dragons looked over to Hiccup before they stood from where they were sitting. Toothless looked over his shoulder at her before she cooed softly and nudged him with her wing tip.

"Looks like she's telling him to trust you," Astrid said, pulling away from the rock and standing to the side as Hiccup slid down from his sittin position, drawing up to his full height. The Night Fury crept closer to them, ears flat against his head and looking ready to bolt if either one of them made the wrong move. Fenrir kept trilling encouragement, or at least that's what it sounded like to the humans, and Toothless eyed Hiccup with a bit of suspicion before he finally stood naught but a couple of feet in front of the Outcast boy. Hiccup held his hand out like Astrid had showed him the day that he'd bonded with Fenrir, keeping his expression as neutral as he could.

Toothless's nostrils flared, squinting at the hand before his body heaved with a huff, lifting his head towards the boy's outstretched hand. Hiccup felt black scales under his fingers, dry skin shift with every muscle that moved, hearing Astrid suck in a breath. He knew that under his hand was a powerful beast, and his mind was modifying his current schemes at a hundred miles an hour. He could do so much damage to Berk with this dragon, could rule from the skies as a prince, a God even. He let his lips quirk into a slight smirk, careful not to show his true thoughts on his face.

The moment of peace passed when Toothless pulled his head away and shook it, a small growl vibrating from his throat before he bounded off over to another part of the cove. Hiccup raised an eyebrow after the Night Fury before he turned to Fenrir, lifting his hand higher to scratch under her chin. "Good girl." He turned his head to look at Astrid, who was watching Toothless make a bed of fire before flopping down in it. "That's the farthest I've gotten all week. Hopefully tomorrow or the day after he'll be ready to try on the prosthetic tail fin I'm having Gobber make him."

"I noticed he had one missing," she said, closing the distance between them after picking up the wicker basket with ease now that it was empty. She lifted her hand to stroke it over Fenrir's nose, the Nadder trilling her content. "Did that happen when you trapped him?"

"Yeah. It's the reason he can't fly out of here." He feigned a guilty look as he turned to look at her front on, forcing himself to show remorse.

"It wasn't your fault." Astrid placed a hand on his shoulder, watching him look away. "You've changed since then. I'm sure Toothless knows that too, that's why he touched his nose to your hand."

Hiccup was quiet for a minute before he ran his hand through his hair, looking at her with a small smile. "Well in any case, my experiment was a success. He gets along with Fenrir at least."

"That'll be good for when we go to fight Alvin." She leaned against the wicker basket, crossing her arms over her chest. "You, me, Stormfly, Fenrir and Toothless."

"You and the dragons aren't getting involved in the actual fight itself." He turned to look at the water, watching the last of the sun's rays catch on the surface through the canopy of trees surrounding the cove. "Alvin is mine and mine alone. There's no honor in fighting in a one on one battle with more than the initial people."

"And I said before that I highly doubt Alvin will play fair."

"I know my father's mind!" he snapped at her, causing her to balk a bit before he shook his head, fingers running through his hair. "Sorry...I know Alvin's mind. He taught me everything I know about warfare and strategic planning. He'll definitely have four or more men waiting in the wings for a signal - six at the most - but most of them are stupid beyond words and don't know how to read, let alone follow a simple order. Brute strength mostly."

"Then the dragons and I will hand back and keep those guys from interfering." Astrid pursed her lips together and frowned a little, her mind nitpicking at the way he'd just called Alvin father. Something didn't feel quite right about that, but she shrugged it off. "In any case, let's give ourselves a week and a half to get Toothless up and flying again and trusting you, then we'll go face Alvin. Together." Watching her hold her hand out, he looked at it before she spoke again, rolling her eyes with a small sigh. "We're friends, idiot. When I say together I mean..."

"I know what it means." He reached to shake her hand, keeping his grip firm but lighter than it used to be. "I still think you're insne for following me."

"Hey, if I'm insane then you're crazier than Loki."

"Of course Meatlug wants sandstone rocks to help her sleep better," Fishlegs muttered to himself as he made his way down to the docks in the middle of the night, pulling his fur vest tighter around his body as he carried a basket with him. "I should have stocked up during the day, I didn't know we were fresh out. Still, only the best for daddy's little girl." Whistling to himself as he made his way down, the blonde viking paused halfway down the ramp to the beach, tilting his head when he saw a figure standing on the beach, peering through the darkness. "Is that...?"

He hurried down to the end where the ramp came into contact with a wall of rock, setting the basket down and peering around the corner as he frowned to himself, placing a hand up against the rocks to steady himself. "It's Hiccup," he murmured, brow furrowing deeper. He shrugged it off and picked up the basket again, continuing on his way down. "He must be out for a midnight stroll. I bet it gets lonely up in the mountains."

Walking down the remaining ramp and turning with hand cupped over his mouth to call out to the other viking, he stood stock still when he saw the rowing boat approaching the coast line, squinting to see the larger boat out in the distance. Fishlegs let out a loud gasp before he clamped his hand over his mouth, eyes darting around looking for a place to hide.

Hiccup watched Savage lead the other two men to the shore, stepping off the rowing boat and into the water when he was close enough, careful not to make splashing sounds. Fenrir stood next to him, hovering protectively over her rider as her tail swished back and forth. The Outcast heir had his arms crossed over his chest, raising an eyebrow at his mentor. "You are late."

"A thousand apologies, oh patient one," Savage said with a low bow, left hand raising to his chest. "We had to seek another place of refuge..."

"I don't want your excuses, Savage," he snapped, completely unaware of their onlooker. Hiccup sighed out a breath to calm himself down - if anyone was to stumble across them, his entire plan would be up in smoke. He held his hand out. "Do you have it?"

"A few throats had to be slit when its last owner was...ah...less than agreeable, but..." Savage reached into a pouch at his hip, pulling out a brilliant red gemstone that seemed to glow fire in the darkness. Hiccup's face lit up greedily when he saw it and he wrapped his fingers around the stone when Savage handed it to him. "The fire stone, as you requested."

"Excellent." Hiccup tossed the gem up into the air before he caught it again, a wicked grin on his face. "Fire stones are responsible for keeping a volcano calm and the dragons within it unhatched. If my sources are correct, this one has been missing from its volcano for fifteen years, and it should be due to erupt at any moment."

Fishlegs clamped a hand over his mouth when he heard the information. No wonder summer had been lasting longer than normal! And with the temperature rising day after day...

"What exactly are your plans for this gem, Hiccup?"

He tossed it up into the air again, watching the way the moonlight shone against its surface before he caught it. "I'm going to plant this in Mildew's house," he said, running his fingers over the finely cut stone. "With the way the temperature's rising, the volcano is bound to erupt in a day, maybe two, maybe less. The entire Barbaric Archipelago will be in danger of sizzling molten lava. When they learn that a fire stone is needed to calm the volcano down, they'll upturn every house looking for it."

"Is this yet another ploy to earn their trust, my prince?"

Hiccup chuckled, leaning forward and clamping his free hand on Savage's upper arm, gripping it in a stron grip. "I almost have the Night Fury tamed. I have her trust. This will only cement my influence further. Stoick has offered to let me stay with him, which I'll take after this and when the time comes I will slit his throat while he sleeps." He pulled away, spreading his arms. "My plans are almost at their fruition, Savage. The dragon princess thinks she's going to help me take father down when really I'll be leading her to her fate as our prisoner. It's absolutely perfect, nothing can go wrong right now!"

Fenrir snapped her head around when she heard a muffled shriek, tilting her head and trilling softly, catching her rider's attention. Hiccup lowered the hand holding the fire stone, pointing in the direction the noise came from. "Seek." The Nadder took off like a shot as a figure scrambled away in the darkness, using a boost from her wings to close the distance betwen and a foot to slam whoever it was into the sand.

"My, you do have that Nadder trained well," Savage murmured with a raised eyebrow as he followed Hiccup over to where there was a remarkably large body flailing about in the sand.

He said nothing in response and tilted his head as they drew closer, smirk forming on his lips before he squatted down, placing his arms on his legs. "Hello, Fishlegs. Out for a midnight stroll, are we?" He gave Fenrir's leg a small tap to tell her to let up slightly to let the other boy speak, tilting his head before he reached down to wrench the other boy's up by the hair. "If you scream I will gut you where you lay."

"O-okay..." Fishlegs spat sand out of his mouth, eyes darting up to look at Hiccup before they glanced away. He frowned, trying to calm himself down even though every bone in his body was telling him to scream. "I can't believe I trusted you. I can't believe we trusted you."

"I take it you heard everything then?" he purred with a raised eyebrow, grinning from ear to ear. "Perfect. That narrows my options down to two."

"If you kill me they'll suspect you."

"Oh I know they will. That's why Savage is taking you back to Outcast Island." He grinned at the panicked look on Fishleg's face before he stood, letting go of the other boy's hair and placing his free hand on his hip, looking at the older viking. "Gag him. This one's a screamer."

"As you wish, sir."

"Don't do this, Hi-mmph!" Fishleg's voice was muffled as one of the other Outcasts threw a burlap sack over his head, tightening it enough to just let a little bit of air in, but the barrier did the trick of completely silencing the boy, who was then trussed up like a pig and carried back to the rowing boat once Fenrir let up on her hold on his body.

"How will you explain the boy's disappearance?" Savage looked after them where they threw the boy's struggling body into the boat before he turned his head to look at Hiccup dusting his free hand off on his dragon.

"He's always getting distracted by something. I'm sure I'll figure something out." He shrugged, grinning. "Try not to torture him too much. I think the little princess will deserve a cell mate when she graces us with her presence."