After returning home, Stoick sat up for a while after Hiccup had gone to bed and could be heard occasionally snoring. He thought back to the swordplay he'd seen between Hiccup and Nina. He decided to pay Gobber a visit. They'd been friends for years, ever since Gobber talked to Stoick's wife, Valka, and the Chief took offense over something. He knocked on the blacksmith's door and heard some scrambling inside.
The door opened and Gobber said in a very thick Scottish accent, "Hello, Stoick. What brings you to my door at this hour?"
"I just wanted to talk to you about something," he said. They entered the house and sat around the fire. "I got back from watching Hiccup and Nina practicing their swordplay. It was pretty funny how it ended, too." His shoulders bounced as he chuckled. "I think they're going to end up either best of friends or a couple. I'd be happy with either, but that's not what I'm here to talk about. Hiccup and Nina both told me that she's the only one in the village who's nice to him. Is she right? Are we just a bunch of mean-spirited grumps?"
"'Course not, Stoick! She's just exaggerating," the blacksmith declared clapping his one hand on his friend's shoulder. He yawned. "It's late, we'd best be turning in."
Stoick nodded. "Right," he agreed, heading back home.
The next day Stoick watched how the other kids interacted with Hiccup. Gobber joined him at a wave of his hand. They both watched as the kids pestered Hiccup until they noticed Nina watching them with an icy glare. They stopped and picked up the Chief's son, brushing the dirt and dust from his clothes where they had pushed him down.
Hiccup gave Nina a grateful look and made his way through a small crowd. There were obvious glares and a few words that from a distance didn't sound very nice. Seeing his shoulders hunch in on him in a protective manner, Nina hopped off the barrel she was seated on and made her way through the crowd, appearing on the other side by Hiccup.
"C'mon, let's get outta here. They're just jealous that they're not as cool as us," she said as they passed by Stoick and Gobber.
The two old friends exchanged glances. Looks like they were right, Stoick thought. It was a bitter pill to swallow. "Guess I'll have to call a meeting to address the issues," he said to Gobber.
"Alright," Gobber said hobbling toward the Great Hall.
"Village meeting, everyone!" bellowed Stoick. He caught Nina and Hiccup's eye as they were turning back and waved them off toward the forest, giving his blessing to flee from the cruelty. The adults and kids made their way to the Great Hall. The Chief joined them moments later. He stood up on a small raised dais. "It's been brought to my attention that Hiccup has been pestered, only finding friendship in Nina. I've seen this with my own eyes after they mentioned it. I understand your frustrations, but that doesn't mean we should be mean to him when there hasn't been a dragon raid and he hasn't done anything wrong. So, until Hiccup does something wrong, don't berate him! Only do so when he actually does something that's bad for the village! Am I clear?"
There was an uncomfortable murmuring. No one wanted to come right out and say it, but they were all disappointed that Hiccup wasn't as strong as his father always said he'd be. They saw him as a failure, even though it wasn't his fault. The entire gathering shuffled around, alternating between looking at their boots, then at each other, then around the room, anywhere but at the Chief.
Gobber drug his hook along a plate of metal, creating an earsplitting shriek. "He's not asking you to change the world, just to lighten up a wee bit!" the disgruntled blacksmith snapped. "If you aren't up for the challenge then maybe you aren't Vikings at all!"
That got a reaction. It was a low blow, but it was effective. Several glares directed at Gobber told both Stoick and his hooked friend that change was on the horizon, they just didn't know if it was going to be for better or worse.