"Do you think we'll see a scauldron?" Hiccup asked leaning over the side of the boat and gazing intently at the water, completely unaware that he was about to fall in. Before the boy fell in Stoick hauled him back in the by the collar of his shirt and continued tying off the rigging.

"No, Hiccup. We're too close to shore."

"What about thunderdrumth? They live close to shore, right?"

Stoick sighed. "Probably not." They were fifteen minutes into the trip and Hiccup showed no signs of falling asleep. Hoark was most likely regretting his offer to come instead of giving directions.

"Thelkieth?"

Stoick took a seat on the bench. "Sit down, Hiccup."

Hiccup sat near his father's feet and leaned on the side of the boat. "Are there thelkieth?" He asked as he put his chin on his arms and watched the water.

"For the last time, there are no such things as selkies."

Hiccup turned his head to look at his father, "But Gobber thaid-"

"Gobber's pulling yer leg, Hiccup."

Hiccup didn't respond; instead he went back to watching the water. Five minutes later he was falling asleep. Stoick was relieved that the boy was finally falling asleep until he noticed that one good wave was all it would take to soak him where the boy was, Stoick noticed. However, if Stoick moved him now Hiccup could wake up. Best to leave him; Stoick could keep an eye on the water until Hiccup was completely out.

"That what he's always like?" Hoark asked from the helm. Fair question, most adults had limited contact with Hiccup. No one wanted to look after the boy for anything longer than ten minutes; Stoick assumed it was the boy's energy. Stoick snorted in reply while watching Hiccup, trying to gage how deeply the boy was sleeping. Leaning forward Stoick brushed his hand over Hiccup's head. The boy murmured and Stoick quickly withdrew his hand. He wasn't out deeply enough yet.

"He's chatty. You can tell him to stop if it bothers you. He'll at least try." The boat rocked a bit more as the waves picked up. At this point Hiccup would go back to sleep if woken. Stoick pulled his son away from the railing and onto his lap.

"Hmm?" Hiccup blinked heavy eyes and looked up at his father.

"Shh, Hiccup, go back to sleep." Stoick settled Hiccup in his arms, smiling when the boy snuggled in and fell back to sleep easily.

"So, uh, Chief. That, uh, that dragon." Hoark said from the stern.

Not that blasted beast again. All Stoick wanted to do was kill it and move on.

"A bunch of us were thinkin and, well, it's owed a debt, Chief."

"A debt? That monster stole Hiccup. If anything we are even." Stoick struggled to keep his voice down so as not to wake Hiccup. The whole issue made him irritated.

"We thought about that and, uh, Gobber and Spitelout pointed out that they did return the lad when he got sick. So," Hoark turned the boat to keep the coast in view. He sounded nervous. He should be.

"I'm not discussing this." Thankfully Hoark didn't press the issue, unlike Gobber.

Hiccup shifted, turning his face into Stoick's shoulder. Stoick moved him so his head wasn't on the iron cloak clasp but on Stoick's neck. He focussed on the boy's breathing to calm himself down. They were silent until Hoark steered them into the coastline.

"There's a path up there, we can beach the boat near it," Hoark said. Stoick nodded; he needed to row them in.

"Time ta wake up, Hiccup." Stoick brushed Hiccup's hair off his forehead.

"No," Hiccup murmured sleepily.

"Yes it is." Stoick lifted Hiccup off his lap and set the boy on his feet. Hiccup immediately sat down and leaned against Stoick's knee, yawning. Stoick grabbed the oars and started rowing them in while Hoark steered. Once the boat was run aground Stoick handed Hiccup down to Hoark so the boy at least stayed dry. Then he jumped into the shin deep water to haul the boat up with Hoark's help while Hiccup headed up the beach. There they tied the boat to a tree.

"Hiccup." Stoick called the boy back from where he had wandered down the rocky coast.

"The path is just down here. Bout a five minute walk inland." Hoark said, raising an eyebrow when Hiccup fell on the rocky shore. The boy picked himself up and continued running. Did the kid never learn? Stoick thought shaking his head.

"Dad, Dad, there'th thelkieth! Right over there! Thee?" Hiccup pointed to some rocks out in the water where a group of seals were sunning themselves.

Stoick sighed; he needed to have another talk with Gobber. "Those are seals, Hiccup." He took the boy's hand. He didn't want Hiccup flitting off here.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "They only look like thealth. They're wearing theal thkinth."

"Of course. How silly of me." Stoick said. Really, Gobber knew how Stoick felt about these ridiculous tales.

"It's just up ahead," Stoick heard the humour in Hoark's voice. They came out of the woods into a clearing. It wasn't very big, which meant that it wouldn't be visible from the sky. Putting up fencing would be easy enough. All in all it was a good place.

"Is there a water source?" Stoick asked. The sheep would need one. "Stay in the clearing, Hiccup." He said letting go of the boy's hand.

"There is one down there." Hoark said pointing to a deer trail through the trees. "We'll need to clear a path to it."

"Let's see it then. Come on, Hiccup. Hiccup?" Stoick looked down at the boy who was sitting on the ground rolling up one pant leg. "What are ya doin?"

"I hurt my knee." Hiccup said as he began to inspect it.

Stoick took a deep breath; of course he did. Stoick knelt down to check. A nasty bruise was forming, Stoick felt it gently; nothing out of place or broken.

"Yer fine. Up ya get." Stoick stood and lifted Hiccup to his feet. He took the boy's hand again to prevent wandering. The brook wasn't far; clearing out a wide path would be easy.

"Think the ewes could winter out here?" Stoick asked Hoark. Hiccup was tugging wanting to explore; Stoick shook his hand to tell him to behave silently.

"It's fairly sheltered. I think they'd be fine. We could send a few this winter and see how they fare." Hoark suggested.

"Sounds good. May as well get some of the work done since we've come all the way out here." Stoick stepped back into the clearing. He would let Hiccup go while they were in an open place.

"Aye. Got some tools in the boat." Hoark went off to get them while Stoick inspected the trees around and near the clearing for use as fenceposts.

"Stay where I can see you, Hiccup." Stoick said as Hiccup poked around nearby.

"Are there elveth here?" Hiccup asked as he knelt to check a rotten log.

"I don't kno-" Stoick stopped himself when he realized what Hiccup had asked, "No, Hiccup. There are no such things as elves." Why the boy wanted to believe in so many troublesome creatures when they already had dragons to deal with was beyond Stoick.

"Are you thure?"

"Yes, Hiccup, I'm very sure that they don't exist."

"Stoick?" Hoark called.

"Over here. I found a good tree; bring the axe. Hiccup, go back to the clearing." Stoick told the boy. Best not to have him underfoot. Knowing Hiccup he'd somehow manage to get hit by the tree.

"I can help." Hiccup protested.

Stoick had been told that he should be happy Hiccup wanted to help. Take advantage of it while the lad's willingness to learn work skills lasted because the lad would soon outgrow the desire to be helpful. The problem was Hiccup wasn't helpful at all. He wanted to be but he didn't listen and then he tried to help without thinking it through causing disaster.

"Not this time, Hiccup. Clearing. Now."

"I never get to do anything." Hiccup muttered as he stomped back to the clearing to sulk. Stoick shook his head and took the axe from Hoark.

It was dark in the cave. The Vikings had blocked the exit so the Nightmare couldn't get out. The cave was small too, only just big enough for her. At least they had taken the bindings off. Her wing hurt where the nadder's spike had gotten it. With nothing else to do the Nightmare kept licking it.

The pain and captivity was worth it though. Her hatchling was safe. No thanks to his sire. Stupid Viking alpha couldn't even tell when his own offspring was being stalked. The Nightmare was still worried, though. She was interested in the little one and that was never good. The most likely reason was greed. With a hatchling to look after only one out of a pair went on raids. That was why She didn't have an issue with taking hatchlings as a punishment; it meant both parents were now free to raid for Her.

The nadder that had attacked had a brood of her own. Three winters she had managed to keep all of them alive. The hatchlings were probably gone now. She didn't like failure. It would have been better for the little ones if their mother had been killed. They were old enough to get by with only one parent in that nest. The only positive light here was with the Nightmare captured the chaos might die down. Hopefully She would lose interest in the Viking hatchling.

The good weather held and the adults had decided to have supper on the shore round a fire. Hiccup insisted that they keep an eye on the boat as the evening wore on and grew antsy as dusk set in.

"I told you Hiccup, goblins don't exist. The boat's fine. Sit down." Stoick said exasperated.

"How do you know?" Hiccup asked. He was all wound up and spooked at every sound. He wanted to go; get away before goblins could do anything to the boat that would cause them to sink in open water.

"Gobber?" Hoark asked Stoick with a laugh.

"Yes." Stoick finally had enough and pulled the boy down onto the log beside him, "I just know, Hiccup. Goblins do not exist."

The cool night air was setting in. Next to the fire was warm, but Hiccup's back was cold. What if the goblins snuck up from behind? Hurriedly Hiccup turned around on the log; back to the fire to watch the woods.

"I'm going to kill Gobber." He heard his father mutter. "Alright, let's go." Stoick stood and dowsed the flames. "Not so fast," his father grabbed his collar before Hiccup could bolt for the boat. "We need to make sure the fire's completely out."

Hoark gathered their things while Stoick showed Hiccup how to cover up all signs of their fire to hide that they had been there. Not necessary in this case, but a good skill to know. Once that was done Stoick lifted Hiccup into the boat before helped Hoark push the boat into the water.

Hiccup went straight to checking the hull for holes.

"What are ya doing?" Stoick asked when he got in.

Hiccup didn't bother looking up; he kept feeling around. "Making thure there aren't any holeth."

"For the last time, there are no goblins. Sit down, out of the way."

Hiccup was ushered to the bow next to the bags. He sat there grumbling; he was only helping. It was colder out on the water so he dug around in his father's pack till he found the blanket he knew was there and wrapped it around himself. He sat quietly while his dad and Hoark got the boat to sea; he knew better than to talk, they needed to pay attention especially at night. It would be too easy to hit a rock.

"So, Gobber tell the kid lots of stories like that?" Hoark asked when they were on course for home.

"All the time. He's always riling Hiccup up with those stupid stories."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. They weren't stupid. All those creatures existed; it was best to know about these things. Be prepared. He moved some stuff around so he could curl up out of the wind.

When they got back to Berk his dad was going to have to make a decision about the Nightmare. Hiccup didn't want to live with her again, but he didn't want her dead either. His dad wouldn't do anything till morning. Maybe Hiccup could sneak in and let her out. The rocking of the boat was calming and rhythmic. Hiccup fell asleep planning the Nightmare's escape while the waves slapped the hull.

A/N: Ugh, editing this reminds me how much Stoick annoyed me here. What happens in chapters 24 and 25 were supposed to happen here but noooooo, Stoick and that stupid Nightmare are too stubborn for that to happen. Glaciers move faster than Stoick when it comes to adapting.

Kas3y: I know, it's hard to believe I've gotten over 20 chapters. I also can't believe u started planning this story almost a year ago too, it's crazy.

KaliAnn: I'll admit that I haven't bothered to research any smithing and have used other books I've read as a guide. Mostly The Magic Circle by Tamora Pierce…

Thearizona: No, no it is chapter 23 I promise. And she gets a name eventually…