Yet another little idea. I was going to write it "normally" (as a narrative), but then this came out... IDEK. xD Let me know if it's too confusing. But I guess it sorta follows the writing "syle" of the previous chapter?

Summary: people believe what they want, and in the end... it's just rumours.

Rumour Has It

"That nasty cut? He got it wrestling a Gronckle."

"A Gronckle? No way! I heard he got it fighting off an Outcast."

There was a disgruntled snort.

"An Outcast?"

"Yeah."

Someone chuckled.

"What? No, you guys are all wrong. He fell off the cliff when he was mountain-climbing."

"From where?"

"From up there."

Four sets of eyes followed the path indicated by the outstretched finger, and one of the kids gasped.

"You're saying he fell ALL the way down FROM THERE?"

"And he only got that one cut?"

"Yes!"

"That's yakshit. He was attacked by a Troll who came to steal his socks at night."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He woke up, saw the Troll, grabbed a hammer and went for it."

"Wow. He has a hammer?"

They all looked around at each others seeking confirmation, but nobody knew for sure.

"I don't believe that."

"Well, I think he still has both his socks."

"Maybe we should check."

"Pfff, he probably has more than one pair of socks, how do we know which one didn't get stolen?"

"That makes sense."

"It does…? Of course it does. I knew that."

There was an exasperated sigh, followed by a groan.

"Well, I heard he got nicked by a Nadder spike and then he used his dagger to open up the wound so he could suck the poisoned blood out."

"Tuffnut, you idiot. How would he suck the blood from his own chin?"

"… I hadn't thought about that."

"Clearly," Snotlout replied, his voice dripping with contempt.

Astrid was getting pretty fed up from the conversation. How the other kids could come up with these ridiculous ideas was beyond her.

"Guys, none of that even makes any sense," Astrid said. "Hiccup was helping out at the forge and Gobber accidentally knocked the weapons shelf over. Hiccup managed to hold it up," Astrid's eyes fluttered without her even noticing it, "but one of the weapons still cut him."

Snotlout furrowed his eyebrows, grimacing. "You can't tell me you believe that Hiccup held that shelf full of heavy weapons!"

Astrid flushed the very slightest before barking back, "What about you? You said he fell from THAT high point in the mountain! That's crazy!"

"Well, I personally don't believe he held up a shelf. And he didn't fight off an Outcast either," Snotlout grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.

"What? That's way more believable than what Fishlegs said," Ruffnut retorted.

"Well, I suppose it could have been a small Gronkle…" Fishlegs considered thoughtfully.

Astrid scoffed. "I don't know where you guys get these ideas, but I got my info from a reliable source."

"What does 'reliable' mean?" Tuffnut whispered into his sister's ear, but she only shook her head.

Fishlegs, who at this point seemed more curious than pensive, asked, "Who was your source?"

"Gobber told me," Astrid replied nonchalantly. And for a moment, she even shrugged and gave everyone her I-told-you-so face… but it only lasted a moment, really, because everyone else burst into an uproar of complaints.

"I can't believe that guy!"

"What, he was the one who told you?"

"Yes!"

"And me too!"

"What the Hel!"

"Wait, so did everything happen at the same time?"

"Huh?"

"You mean Hiccup fought off an Outcast riding a Gronckle while they fell down a cliff, and then a Nadder – "

"Dude, that doesn't even make sense…"

"Then HOW did Hiccup get that wound?"

"Beats me!"

"And me!"

"I have no idea."

"Man... Gobber totally tricked us."

"I'm so angry right now!"

"I knew something wasn't right."

"Pfft, yeah. Me too."

"I know! Silly, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah."

"… Yeah."

The groupl fell silent, letting the realization of their gullibility sink in like an oversized yak in quicksand. Eventually Snotlout suggested they go practise carrying sand-filled buckets, and everyone agreed it would be best. They let the subject drop and never touched it again.

So here is the story: they had all seen the fresh, big, nasty cut on Hiccup's chin the previous night. Curiosity had nestled in the heads of all the young teens, but nobody had wanted to ask Hiccup directly about how he got the bad cut. Nobody wanted to seem like they cared too much about it, anyway.

Yet each of them had individually gone to Gobber to ask the question, and had obviously gotten a different answer.

Eventually the cut healed and became a scar. None of the teenagers would ever admit it, but they thought it looked kind of cool... Perhaps this was because of the mystery surrounding the origin of the wound, and not exactly due to the size of it.

It was too embarrassing to talk about how they had all bought into the blacksmith's excuses. So, to this day, nobody knows how Hiccup got the scar.

Except for Hiccup himself – and Gobber, who had essentially been the cause of the boy's injury. By deceiving the other kids, the old Viking was actually being quite thoughtful regarding his apprentice…

After all, falling from a tree – after getting caught peeping on the girls while they bathed in the hot springs – was probably not going to help Hiccup's reputation.

So why not jazz it up a little? People believe what they want, and in the end... it's just rumours.

END

So that was that! Gobber is such a considerate mentor. :D

A/N:

I do have this solid headcanon that Hiccup got his scar when he was little - maybe while his mother was still around - but this was a different idea I had.

And I wouldn't have worked out like I wanted to if they were younger, so I'd place their ages here roundabout 12 years old.

I do have an idea or two that might require me to use this "sneaky", "loose" conversation type of drabble, so let me know if it's just... to strange, or something. XD I'm groping for reactions here, people. :p I need to know what works.

*cue Careless Whispers and the "I have no idea what I'm doing" GIF*

Whoah where did that come from. Too much Tumblr and dragon nip! Whoo. Anyway, thank you for reading my sweeties. And extra special fluffy thanks to my adorable reviewers, you sexy kittens. :3