Chapter 16:

Now to see how Hic's parents are going to help him overcome his fears.

Despite the fact the Hic had gotten past spending every day in his room, he still wouldn't go outside, no matter what. And that was a problem that Astrid and Hiccup had to fix. The question was how. Convincing Hic to leave the house was not going to be easy. But they had to do it. And Hiccup had an idea how.

Hic was hiding under the table and hugging Buttons when Hiccup and Astrid got back from their flight together. Camicazi was with Heather in the far corner, with the older woman reading to her from the Book of Dragons. Hiccup glanced at his son, deciding to put his idea into action. Taking a deep breath, he slowly approached the table before kneeling down to Hic's height. Hic didn't notice his father until he spoke in a gentle tone of voice, "Hey, buddy."

Hic was surprised by his father's appearance, but not scared. He'd never be scared of his father. Hiccup took the fact that Hic had not cowered or tried to run away as a good sign, and proceeded with his plan. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked. Hic only nodded. "Well, aren't you going to go out and play?" Hiccup asked. Hic shook his head. "Can you tell me why?" Hiccup asked gently. "I don't wanna get carried off again," Hic said quietly. His parents had already heard many times about how Toothless Jr. accidentally carried Hic off with him when he went to help Mortem find Hiccup. But Hiccup wasn't going to let that excuse stop him from getting Hic out into the world. He reached out and laid a hand on Hic's shoulder. "No one in the village is going to hurt you," he said in a soft, gentle voice. Hic glanced at him before looking away. But Hiccup wasn't giving up that easily. He pulled Hic out from under the table. The boy didn't struggle much, he only tightened his hold on Buttons. After making sure that Hic wasn't afraid or worried, Hiccup grabbed his son and lifted him up into his arms.

The next thing Hic knew, his father was carrying him towards the door. He gasped, and was instantly frozen with fear. He was too scared to struggle, so he could do nothing as Hiccup carried him outside the house.

Hic had not been outside in weeks, and he certainly didn't remember the village being overloaded with dragons. There were obviously more dragons than he thought there was, as many of them were perched on the roofs of over half the houses in the village, since there was no room for all of them in the plaza. He didn't notice the yellow Scuttleclaw baby staring at him until it gave a small squawk. Hic was surprised as the strange baby dragon was staring at him with its big eyes, and its focus didn't shift from the young boy, even when a large flock of dragons crowded around a Viking to be fed.

The baby Scuttleclaw sniffed Hic curiously, then gave a loud squawk and ran in a circle. Hiccup had also noticed the baby dragon, and laughed at the playful youngster. The Scuttleclaw calmed down and continued to observe Hic. "He's acting funny," the boy said quietly. Hiccup chuckled. "Yeah, he likes you." "Does he have a name?" Hic asked as he tried to hide Buttons from the curious Scuttleclaw. Hiccup shook his head. "I don't think so," he said, "You can name him if you want."

Hic was stunned. He actually got to pick a name for the dragon. He wasn't usually good with names, but he did have somewhat of an idea of what to call the youngster.

"Rowdy."

The Scuttleclaw froze at the sound of his new name. He tilted his head, as if considering the name. Then he squawked and ran in a circle, clearly happy and pleased with the choice.

Hiccup was also satisfied with the name his son had given to the baby dragon. The Scuttlclaw had played a small, albeit important role in the final battle with Drago and Tyranno, and that took quite a lot of courage.

After about a minute of chasing his tail, Rowdy calmed down and looked at Hic expectantly. Hic didn't notice his father setting him on the ground, as his attention was on the dragon. He did notice when the Scuttleclaw was somehow taller than he was. Hic was confused, and somewhat worried, but he calmed down when the dragon started to nuzzle him. Rowdy nipped at the boy's hair and wrapped his tail around his midsection, giving as close as he could to a hug. Hic was surprised by the dragon's behavior, but he quickly got over it. This dragon actually made him feel happy. Was this what it was like to train dragons, and teach them to trust you? It must have been, because Hic realized that he loved dragons more than he thought he did. There were more dragons out there besides Night Furies.

And maybe someday, he'd learn to train all of them.

He didn't even mind when Rowdy began sniffing Buttons. The little dragon had never seen a toy before, since he had spent most of his life in the Alpha's Nest. And now that he knew there were more places and things to explore, there was no way he'd be going back to the nest. Not while there were still so many things to learn about.

Hiccup watched as his son and the baby dragon bonded, smiling. Maybe now Hic would finally be wanting to go out and play more often. He suddenly heard the sound of small wings flapping, and turned to see Sharpshot flying toward him with a piece of paper tied around his leg. The Terrible Terror perched on Hiccup's shoulder as he untied the message from the dragon's leg and opened it. There were only two words written on the parcel:

It's hatching.

Draco watched in excitement and impatience as the Speed Stinger egg wobbled, and cracks appeared on the surface. He barely noticed his father and younger brother join him as the egg started to split open. He did notice the yellow Scuttleclaw baby try to push past him to get a better look. Draco moved over to give the baby dragon room to see the egg, without a single complaint.

The Speed Stinger parents were also watching, with the mother chirping to her baby as it pushed its snout out of the eggshell. The baby chirped back to its mother, pushing away bits of eggshell in an attempt to see its parents for the first time. The mother Speed Stinger climbed into the nest and began biting off chunks of the egg to help her baby emerge into the world. The baby's eyes met its mother's as it climbed out of what was left of the egg and stumbled into the nest.

For the first time in his life, Draco was speechless. He had just seen a baby Speed Stinger hatch from its egg, which was something that no Viking had ever been able to do before. He forgot all about the Book of Dragons as he watched the baby's parents clean him and hold him close. Draco somehow managed to finally voice his thoughts on what he had just seen.

"He's beautiful."

Hiccup smiled and laid a hand on Draco's shoulder. "It kind of reminds me of you guys," he said. Draco gave a slight nod to show his father that he had heard him. "Can I name him?" he asked. Hiccup shrugged. "Sure," he said, "What do you want to name him?" Draco thought for a minute before coming up with the perfect name.

"Zippo."

"I like it," Hic said quietly. The Lead Stinger gave a chirp of approval of his new son's name. Hiccup chuckled. "Zippo it is."

Baby Zippo was confused about all of the noise, and tried to hide behind his mother. Zippo's mother noticed his fear and curled her tail around him. careful not to poke him with her stinger. Hiccup sighed. "I think we should give them some time," he said as he backed away quietly, so he wouldn't disturb the new family. Draco nodded and followed his father, with Rowdy close behind.

Zippo was oblivious to the departing of the small group as he yawned and stretched out for a nap.

New baby dragons, and Hic is finally going out of the house! Excited! Now, should I do a time skip? You all can vote via a review!