24 - Negotiations

Hiccup and Toothless glided in over Toothless Tackle island with equal parts excitement and dread. As they angled in to touch down, Hiccup studied the crowd.

Everyone staring in shock, amazement, and disbelief? Check.

While idly fondling the handles of various swords, axes, and maces? Also, check.

All around were chieftains, heirs, and representatives from almost every tribe in the Barbaric Archipelago. They all stared with mixed expressions of hatred, distrust, greed, and in some cases, hopefulness. There probably wasn't a single person present who hasn't heard stories of the evil Hooligan tribe using their mind control powers to greedily amass a dragon army to take over the world… or something like that. As a result, half the tribal chieftains refused to attend this Thing and sent some expendable heirs and councilmen instead.

Hiccup smiled warmly at them all. All he had to do was convince them to not all rally together to burn Berk to the ground… again… and accept some dragon training on his terms instead of their "gimme now" terms.

Toothless projected an image of his rider with a leg of lamb held over his head, trying to placate a hundred baying wolves.

On the plus side, the past week of rain has transitioned into some beautiful sunshine with scattered clouds. This wasn't just nice, but necessary. A grumpy Viking is an unreasonable Viking and rain or sleet would definitely make anyone grumpy.

Toothless hit the ground with his usual pounce, bounce, and trot. They aimed for a little distance away from everyone to avoid spraying pine needles and sand at them. After all, being polite could only help, even with Vikings. Toothless padded over to his fellow Hooligans with Hiccup on his back, giving his customary snarl at anyone who was nervously tugging at their weapons.

It wasn't until now that Hiccup realized just how much of an imposing presence he and Toothless made - well, Toothless, at least. Nobody has seen a Night Fury before. Even though Toothless has grown a little bit over the past couple years, he still wasn't a large dragon by any means. Size wasn't everything, as evidenced by the whispered murmurings and slack-jawed expressions. They recognized a certain grace and tenacity in that black dragon.

To compliment that appearance of a hunter stalking his prey, Toothless wasn't just as haughty as a proud Viking warrior; there was a whole hall full of haughty warriors behind his eyes. He was making an unmistakable statement with every slit-pupiled glare, every stride, every curl of his lips and flick of his wings and tail, that to mess with his rider would be to pick a bad fight with a mean dragon who plays for keeps. He certainly got the desired effect.

Leave it up to Toothless to nurture a battle-ready atmosphere.

Honestly, while such a display inspired in Hiccup a wide range of emotions - they needed to be diplomatic here and not start another war - adoration for such loyalty overshadowed everything else.

Gobber slapped his good hand against Toothless' shoulder and said, "Lad, did you really just do what I think you just did?"

Hiccup stifled a chuckle. That leap of faith off the edge of the sea stack within clear view of every Viking here had the desired effect. Toothless had not made any attempt to conceal his ire for his rider's decision to wait until the very last moment to slide back into the saddle, but by the gods, the look on everyone's face as they leveled off and swooped over the beach...

"What?" Hiccup casually shrugged. "I think it made a good impression."

"Riiiiight. Smack 'im, Toothless!"

"Ha!" Hiccup crossed his arms with a smirk on his face. "As if Toothless would ever-" *WHAP!* "OW! Traitor!"

Hiccup idly rubbed his cheek that was just slapped by one of the dragon's sensor fins. He knew he had it coming, though. Toothless always loved their trust falls, but would get anxious for his rider's safety past a certain height.

The rider unhooked his prosthetic foot from the stirrup and was about to slide down when Stoick held up a massive hand and said, "Stay in the saddle. Toothless, you will be his show pony for this meeting. And Hiccup," Stoick placed a hand on the dragon's snout and leaned over close to his son, "It is only because of all the other chiefs here that your rear is not covered in welts right now. I would expect more wisdom from my son."

Toothless chuffed. {See? I'm not the only one who thinks we cut it close.}

Hiccup didn't even respond to his dragon. If Stoick had his way, there would be no trust falls. In fact, there would be no fun stunts. Ever. There would only be smooth and level flying to get from one point to another that would put both dragon and rider to sleep in the air.

The rider ended up just sighing and ground out, "Yessir."

"Good!" Stoick took a step back and clapped his hands. "So long as we understand each other. And Toothless, we're trying to convince these people that dragons actually have a brain and maybe even a conscience. Perhaps you can demonstrate that to me next time Hiccup tries to do something stupid like that and you are able to stop him."

Toothless gave some mix between a growl and a groan. The household of haughty Vikings behind his eyes was definitely shouting and clanging their swords together. Hiccup silently projected emphatic praise to his dragon for demonstrating such control with a benign response to an impingement on his dignity. With his new insight into what it was like to be a Night Fury, made available by hearing projected thoughts, Hiccup could appreciate the amount of discipline his dragon was displaying. When it came to pride and a boastful attitude, Toothless made Snotlout look like Fishlegs.

"Dad," Hiccup said in annoyance. "I don't think we're making a good first impression here. Are we trying to convince everyone that dragons are nothing more than horses with wings? I need to stand by him, not sit on him. Please."

Stoick sighed. "Alright, but first sign of trouble, Toothless, and you grab Hiccup and bolt."

Hiccup nervously said, "I'd also like to take the saddle off."

Stoick bristled up at that, as expected, but before he could say anything, Hiccup pressed on, saying, "You've seen the new and improved tailfin. Toothless can fly without a saddle and I've flown bareback before. It will help in the negotiations."

"No, Hiccup. You leave that saddle on."

Gobber leaned over and quietly said, "The lad does have a point, Stoick. It would be rather awkward if someone manages ta use a burning log ta set his saddle on fire or cut it loose with a quick slash of the sword. Kinda makes it hard ta fly, even if the dragon ain't harmed."

Stoick combed his beard with his fingers for a moment. "Alright, but you stay within arms-reach of your dragon at all times. Deal?"

Rider and dragon exchange glances.

"Deal."

Hiccup jumped off his dragon, released the ropes to the tailfin, and unfastened the saddle, letting it slide to the ground. Under his breath, he muttered, "Let's just get this over with and see what flies."

As he took a step forward, Toothless shadowing his side, he scanned the crowd. There were about sixty Vikings in total, all gathered around a sizable bonfire with the Hooligans centered on one side. The burning logs were spread in a row about thirty paces long, oriented in line with the wind so the Vikings on either side didn't get smoked out. Various kettles and pans showed signs of snacking during the Thing. Logs dotted the outside of the fire line to dry off and feed the fire as needed.

Hiccup could feel their eyes boring into him and his dragon. They were all judging, analyzing, ready to lash out at any perceived threat. To his relief, he did not see Alvin or anybody from the Outcast tribe. If there was one tribe with which he would not want to share any knowledge about dragons, it would be them.

Stoick must have already told them a bit about dragons on Berk since nobody was demanding rides on Toothless or to be given a dozen Monstrous Nightmares for the trip home. In fact, Hiccup found himself wondering that they were so calm around Toothless. Hands rested on the pommels of swords and axes, but no weapons were drawn at the moment. This state of peaceful listening sure could not last long.

Raising his voice to be heard, he said, "Greetings. I'm Hiccup. And he," Hiccup gestured to his dragon next to him, "Is Toothless."

Tossing a look over at his father, he said, "You guys already talked about the dragon war and Red Death, right?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw someone from the Lava Lout tribe gently kick a log in the stack in front of him. Someone at the other end noticed and the two bent down, hefting it into the fire. A Viking from the Hysteric tribe with sausages impaled on a stick grumbled at the flying embers and shifted over to a better bed of coals.

"Yep," Stoick said. "We told them about you and Toothless, the Red Death, and the dragon raid that repelled the attack a few weeks ago. You just talk about how they can befriend dragons. This meeting here is to discuss what should have been discussed long before anyone launched an invasion."

Someone in his thirties from the Lava Lout tribe shouted, "And how would we know that you would want to share your secrets? We had every reason to suspect you were gathering a dragon army in secret to attack us!"

"You could have asked," Gobber threw in with a light-hearted chuckle. "Ya know... with words. It's a thing people do, sometimes."

"And just give you all the more time to acquire more dragons and-"

Spitelout chafed to give his own response and shouted, "Milk-drinker! I'd cut off your testicles if only you had any for such saying something so insipid. We have repelled many fools before, without dragons. And in this last attack on Berk, nine to one, those who died were killed by Hooligans on our own island and not by dragons."

Someone in his late fifties shouted out from the Berserker tribe, "All bark and no bite! Even during the dragon war, Berk has survived only because the dragon raids ground almost all raiding to a halt. Don't pretend to be what you're not. You caught us off-guard last time, but even with your dragons, you are not safe. You may have a dragon army, but that alone cannot protect you. We will-"

Anything else he had to say was lost. Hiccup crouched under his dragon, who shot a fireball straight up into the air. It exploded above with a deafening impact. The shockwave rattled everyone and momentarily blew out the fire until the glowing coals reignited the wood. Curses could be heard as kettles toppled over and sausages fell into the coals.

After a short moment of relative silence, Hiccup said, "If you would like to bicker back and forth forever, then I will leave you to it. Knock yourselves out. But if you want to hear about befriending dragons, then I will speak."

Hiccup held his stern expression, but inwardly pat himself on the back. He has been working on improving his skills in negotiating with Vikings. They're just like dragons; simply be assertive and show that you are not fearful and they will give you some consideration.

Someone else spoke up from the Murderous tribe. "And why should we listen to this little toothpick?"

Hiccup was waiting for such an outburst. He smiled innocently. "You raise a very excellent and well thought-out point, Murderous tribe. I am ashamed to say I have no argument to that. I apologize for wasting your time. Goodbye!"

With a leap onto the dragon's back, the duo turned around and was actually surprised nobody said anything until Toothless coiled his haunches and was about to spring into the air.

"WAIT!"

Hiccup took a moment to wipe the grin off his face before turning around again. It was a trick his father taught him. Nothing gets Vikings to listen to you faster than making it clear you have no desire to speak. Asking someone to hear you out is the kiss of death.

As Toothless took a couple slow, measured steps to the fireline again. Hiccup slid down to the ground and asked, "Who said that?"

Silence.

"Speak up," Hiccup chided, enjoying himself far too much.

"Guess I must be hearing things in my old age," Hiccup mumbled, trying to keep the grin off his face. The dragon and rider duo made to turn around, but someone from the Berserker tribe stepped forward toward the fireline. Hiccup was actually surprised it was Throst. Judging by the venomous glares from his fellow Berserkers and the hand on his shoulder that he shook off, he wasn't exactly backed up by his tribe.

Several days ago, after he recovered from whatever drug Dagur had forced down his throat, Hiccup made Toothless spill all the beans and saw what the dragon did to the man. The rider had to admit he was starting to forgive Throst, maybe even like him. However, Toothless was less forgiving and strode right into the fire line, knocking burning logs and embers aside, with wings fanned and his best death glare locked on Throst. The Vikings in front of the dragon stumbled back, retreating from the burning debris scattering from the fire line. Throst's reaction to such a display certainly fit one who was browbeaten and personally threatened by the offspring of lightning and death himself.

Hiccup kicked his dragon's tail and implored him not to start a fight. Toothless just growled as he kneaded the sand and coals with his claws, but did nothing more. It was as good as the rider could hope for. The household of haughty Vikings behind the dragon's eyes was clamoring for blood. It took a great deal of discipline to resist mauling Throst right then and there.

Hiccup said, "One is enough for me, Throst. I can respect that everyone's time is valuable and I wish not to waste it with trifles. If you alone wish to hear what I have to say, perhaps we can discuss more about becoming a dragon rider. Privately. How does that sound?"

That got the desired reaction from every single Viking present. Of course, it was a rhetorical question.

Throst said, "Since… Since we are all here, there is no loss in hearing you out, Hiccup. This is the last item on the agenda to discuss today, so anyone who wishes to leave will miss nothing else and I wish them a safe journey home. For the rest of us, though, perhaps what you have to say can help us appraise this situation."

Of course, not a single person moved from his spot.

Speaking up, Hiccup said, "Very well. If you insist. Let's get on with this."

At a silent instruction, Toothless curled his tail around and used it to sweep aside any burning debris, right down to sand. It was a trick Hiccup had his dragon experiment with, considering the prosthetic tailfin. The key was to sweep the tail to the right so the natural tail fin was leading. As long as the tail flicked back and forth quickly enough, the leather fin was just fine.

With the coast cleared, Hiccup took a few steps forward to stand by his dragon's head. A wing wrapped around his shoulder to provide protection from the flames off to the side. Fortunately, the wind was gentle and hardwood fueled the fire, so after the ash settled down, the air became quite breathable again.

This was the main reason Hiccup wanted to remove the saddle. The dragon's scaly hide was fine, but the leather straps would just burn up. Hiccup knew that if he was going to get cooperation, he would need their respect, so he leaned on his dragon to provide a display of awe to compensate for his own lackluster musculature. Behind him, he could hear Gobber saying to Stoick, "Did your boy really... just..."

Hiccup spoke up as he scanned the crowd from his new position. "In answer to your question, Murderous tribe, I'll tell you why you should listen to this toothpick. To be blunt, I have succeeded where you all have failed. None of you can so much as feed a dragon a fish from your own hand without said dragon trying to take your fingers as well. If you want to see success in this venture, you will heed my advice. If you don't, then you will be left behind while everyone else has dragon riders."

The dark mutterings that arose were stunningly subdued. After a moment of relative silence, Hiccup continued. "I am willing to train people from your tribe to befriend dragons. This training will start two weeks from today and will last two weeks. I will show the dos and don'ts when approaching a dragon to gain his trust. I will impart all the tricks I've learned to deal with dragons that are temperamental and a threat to your tribe. And, of course, I will show how to make saddles and ride them effectively when or if they get a dragon to allow them on his back."

Thuggory, heir to the Meathead tribe, spoke up, saying, "You said if a dragon accepts a rider. How can people call you the dragon master if you can't even tame a dragon to accept a rider? Give me any horse and I can put anyone on its back."

Rider and dragon sneered at the young man. "I have no doubt of that, Thuggory of the Meathead tribe. Horses are strong and stupid and you seem to get along with them quite well."

The heir being addressed fumed, made only worse by the laughter around him.

Hiccup continued, "A dragon isn't a horse. Ever since the dragon war ended, we have been forced to change a lot about how we view dragons as we learn more about them. They are intelligent creatures, not stupid animals." Hiccup glowered at Thuggory, allowing some anger into his voice. "I would not be surprised to discover that Toothless," he affectionately rubbed the side of his dragon's neck, "Is smarter than many people here."

Everyone suddenly burst into shouting, most of it directed at Hiccup. No weapons were drawn yet. At another silent request, Toothless gave a loud, sharp roar. Everyone glowered.

Thuggory drew his sword and said, "You dare insult me? I am an honorable warrior and have slain dragons and will not be mocked by a little whelp. Care to back your statement with your blade?" A quick glance made it apparent that he would easily smear Hiccup all over the ground without even trying.

Toothless snarled. Mogadon, Thuggory's father and chief, smacked him on the back of the head.

Hiccup saw an opportunity and said with an innocent smile, "Well, Thuggory, if that is a formal challenge to Holmgang, then I accept. According to law in both your tribe and mine, since you are the challenger, I pick the weapon and location. I choose unarmed combat and the sacred fight will take place on the top of that sea stack up there." Hiccup pointed to the sea stack off the coast that Snotlout and Hookfang were waiting on. "Also, as declared by law, a champion can fight in my stead since I am a toothpick." Hiccup affectionately slapped Toothless' shoulder. Toothless snorted at Thuggory and curled his lips in a very non-toothless smile. "State your terms if you win."

Thuggory flushed and tersely said, "You can't seriously suggest having your beast fight as your champion and the location is untenable."

The rider smiled innocently. "Perhaps you could show me where the law states such restrictions? It's written down so everyone can read it."

Muttering rippled around as people caught on to the implications. The law never stated, "The champion must be human," or, "The location must be accessible to those who cannot fly." Such details were never considered by their ancestors. He was really splitting hairs, but anyone who knew Hiccup realized they shouldn't have been surprised about that. Stoick pinched the bridge of his nose.

Mogadon leaned down and reproved Thuggory in a hurried whisper. Thuggory scowled and said, "I ain't challenging you, so keep your britches on, kid. You just watch your mouth."

Hiccup said, "I'll admit I went a bit too far, there. However, this does illustrate one example of many regarding just how wholly unprepared our society is to integrate dragons into our tribes. Two years ago, we instantly stuffed hundreds of dragons on our island. Even with hundreds of warriors vouching for the dragons, it almost caused an all-out civil war. This brings me back to my plan for helping people from your tribe befriend dragons. I will accept two people from each tribe, no more. This will allow me to give personal attention to each individual as I'd rather have a few successful students than give lectures to a hundred and say, 'Well, good luck!' Give me youth as they seem to be more comfortable around dragons. The dragons, likewise, are more comfortable around them."

Someone from the Berserker tribe, probably in his late forties or early fifties, shouted, "Why not just tell us what you have to say, right here, right now?"

{I don't like that one. Please tell me to kill him!}

Hiccup didn't even bother responding to his dragon. Instead, he said, "If you made that request a month ago, I probably would have been thrilled to spill everything I knew. However, ever since you kinda took me hostage, drugged me until I couldn't walk straight, and tried to burn Berk to the ground, well... nobody here deserves the knowledge I have to share. I deem you unworthy. All of you."

The enraged chatter from all around started to get too loud. Hiccup held his peace and made a show of inspecting his fingernails and casually scratching his dragon's eye ridges. They would eventually realize he would not continue until they calmed down. Toothless had his sensor lobes flared out in a show of aggression, scanning for any signs of threat, but seemed otherwise fine. He was actually quite pleased with himself when he discovered a little game of using his wings to blow smoke from the fire at the most aggressive Vikings nearby.

"Thank you," Hiccup said when it was relatively quiet again. "I will train the people you send, though, and they can train you. But I will not train you directly. I don't trust any of you enough for that."

Again, a cacophony of angry shouting welled up. Some swords were half unsheathed. Toothless tensed up and growled warningly. Hiccup waited, ready to jump up onto his dragon's back if they had to take off right then and there. However, after a moment, the frenzy settled down.

Someone shouted, "Well, you better train them damn well, or-"

"Or what?" Big Bertha bellowed in a loud, baritone voice from where she stood to the left of the Hooligan tribesmen. She crossed her arms and gave a look that could make a man feel foolish and naked. "You'll send another invasion fleet for them to burn up before they even get to land?"

Hiccup suddenly noticed Camicazi standing next to Big Bertha and internally smacked himself for not having noticed her before. On further inspection, there were two large wicker baskets behind her and he could guess what was inside them. Toothless confirmed his suspicion that they housed the two Terrible Terrors she had befriended earlier. The little dragons were already silently arguing about who would be able to filch the most shiny stones, or the largest, or the shiniest. Camicazi noticed Hiccup's stare and returned her own grin with a wink.

Hiccup once again waited for the shouting and muttering to settle down. He had what they wanted. He had power over them and he would not let them twist his arm.

He was not Hiccup the Useless.

He was Hiccup the Grudgingly Tolerated and that made all the difference in the world.

When it was quiet enough to be heard again, he said, "When selecting the two from your tribe, I would recommend you pick those who are naturally curious. A little humility would be a good trait to have and they should have a genuine desire to learn more about dragons. I would go so far as to say if any youth in your tribe admire dragons and are constantly distracted by what you may consider a silly fascination with them, I would pick them.

"Also, one thing to note is that we have two riders who share one Zippleback. They are twins, so I would venture a guess that if you send two people who spend a lot of time together, like a married couple, they are more likely to be chosen by a Zippleback. However. if all you give me is a couple brainless sacks of meat to work with, then don't expect to gain as much as the other tribes."

Hiccup asked his dragon to tell Hookfang, who was waiting on a nearby sea stack, that he and his rider could return. Before the Thing even started, all riders had established some nonverbal way each dragon could tell his or her rider that they were being summoned.

More angry shouting rose up. Toothless tensed, glaring at anyone who started to unsheathe a weapon, but nobody started charging or swinging, yet. The din quieted after a while, though.

"That's it," Hiccup said as he jumped up onto his dragon's back. "Two weeks, send two people here. If they don't return on dragon back, pick them up two weeks later."

"You ain't going nowhere until you tell us how to tame dragons, boy!" A large man from the Lava Lout tribe shouted out.

Hiccup casually leaned forward from his perch on his dragon, affectionately scratching the snout. He stared at the Viking with a deadpan expression. "I strongly disagree, sir. You've heard my offer. Take it or leave it. Goodbye!"

As Toothless stood up to turn around, weapons appeared in hands. Vikings from the Berserker, Lava Lout, and Murderous tribes started charging. Stoick and Gobber shouted for Hiccup to get out of there.

With two powerful sweeps of his wings, Toothless blew smoke, ash, embers, and sand into the air, causing the would-be attackers to stumble backward, blinded and gasping for air. He then spun around and reached the saddle on the beach in a single bound, grabbing it in his mouth.

Stoick slapped the dragon's hindquarters, shouting "Git! We got this. You get out!"

As Toothless launched himself into the air, Hiccup shouted back, "That was rude!"

The duo made the short flight to Berk's ship anchored offshore. After landing, he hastily saddled his dragon and hopped on again. There were some tribesmen from Berk on the ship enjoying the show from afar as even the Hooligans had to follow the rule of no more than five on the island. As with most other tribes, Stoick brought them so he could have a full crew when he would have to row back home upwind. The tribesmen from the other ships that were scattered off the shore were shifting their attention between the Night Fury and the commotion on the island.

Dragon and rider took off, climbing high to see what the situation was like back on the island. Toothless provided his eyesight and, more importantly, that jaw-dropping, formless perception of everyone, where they were, and the general tone of their emotional hum. To Hiccup's surprise, nobody was engaged in all-out warfare. Everyone was collecting back into their tribes, kicking burning logs back into the fire and settling down. Snotlout, who had just landed, had his fingers wrapped around the horn at the tip of Hookfang's snout, calming him down.

Content that his people were safe for now, Hiccup and Toothless flew up to the sea stack overlooking the island. From there, he watched the meeting in seclusion until it ended, which didn't take long. After everyone had taken their dinghies to their ships and started sailing or rowing back home, he got on Toothless to go join his father on his ship.

"Well, Bud, let's see if anything came out of all this."

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Stoick spared a glance at his son and his dragon as they dove in from the clouds. His main focus, though, was to keep the tempo of his rowing steady. He and Spitelout were in the back of the skeid and all eyes were on them to keep the tempo of the strokes.

Of course, Stoick could have just flown to the Thing. Working with Hiccup, he went on some flights with Skullcrusher and did his best to hear out all of his son's preaching about treating a dragon as an equal and a friend. The dragon always tried to prod Stoick into riding wherever he needed to go, but the chief was always fixed on doing things the old-fashioned way. Gobber had his dragon, too, and Hookfang could carry Spitelout, but that would not have been diplomatically wise. Encouraging even more envy and strife would only be counterproductive.

"Request permission to land!"

The voice of his son snapped Stoick back to the present.

"Granted. Land at the bow."

Stoick saw the black dragon blur past from behind the ship. He felt the stern rise up in the air a bit before crashing back down into the water.

"Sorry about that," Hiccup shouted over the spraying water. "Landed a bit hard, there."

Gobber snorted. "Hope ya have a good reason for slowing us down, lad. Yer heavy dragon ain't making our rowing any easier or our progress faster."

A draconic snort answered the blacksmith.

"Ya know, Gobs," HIccup taunted, "Toothless says he's not sure what to make of you calling him heavy."

"Ha! At least tell your beast to do something besides just sit there. He can use his wing as an oar."

"Actually, Toothless is contributing. Look."

Stoick stole a glance over his shoulder to see what the fuss was about. The Night Fury was sitting upright at the front of the ship with his right wing extended out toward the stern.

"I'm not sure which one of you to smack for thinking that's helping," Gobber jeered, but to Stoick's experienced ears, his tone of voice suggested he was actually trying to prod the boy to explain his methods.

"Sure he is," Hiccup said. "His wing is acting as a sail. Granted, it's not the largest sail ever, but he's making use of this stiff breeze to push us forward."

"Ya can't push a boat forward with a headwind. It's coming off the blasted bow, lad."

"Well, technically, closer to starboard than bow. With a headwind like this, our sails do nothing. But Toothless has figured out how to get a headwind to push us forward. See? Imagine his torso is the mast and his wing is a sail."

"Ya," said Gobber. "I'm imagining your dragon doesn't know anything about sailing."

"No, Gobber, listen. The wind pushes the sail and the sail pushes the mast. The wind pushes Toothless. He can feel where the wind is pushing him. That makes him a master sailor in my book. We were trying this out in a little dinghy. Gobber, we could sail into the wind. Well, not straight off the bow, but we could make some good progress with the wind coming at an angle from the bow."

"Oh, do tell me more, Mr. Dragon boy. All we need then is some dragons on a boat and our sailing needs are met."

"No," Hiccup dryly said. "We just need to chop half the sail off to sail into the wind. I think that's the key. We could sail directly upwind by just tacking back and forth, using Toothless as a sail. Just imagine if we have a boat with full sail riggings that work the same way!"

Gobber said with a jaunty voice, "Ya, sure. We'll race your dragon boat against a sailboat."

Hiccup bridled with feigned bravado. "I'll make a dragon wing sailboat and then you'll see! You will rue the day you doubted me!"

"I'm quaking in my boots, lad. Now go talk to your father and scoot."

Out of the corner of his eye, Stoick saw his son sit down next to him. "Hey, Dad... Spite... Phlegma... Bucket."

Grunted greetings were squeezed out between strokes of the oars.

"Sorry, Dad. I let things get a little rough back there, during the Thing."

"Nonsense, son!" Stoick said cheerily. "All things considered, ya done good. I'm sure you recognize ways you could have handled them better... things you should not have said."

Hiccup shrunk in on himself. "Ya, I did push them a bit far a couple times."

"Bah. It all turned out well enough. I think they respect you a little more, now. Especially with your dramatic exit. I was all excited about a chance to crack some skulls, but they really disappointed me by filing back into their ranks and settling down."

"Gee," Hiccup said with dry sarcasm. "What... a... loss..."

"Anyway, they agreed. Two tribesmen, two weeks. Do you really have a plan?"

Hiccup perked up. "Yes. Hopefully, they don't send brainless sacks of meat. We have more than a month until the stormy season rolls in, so I think we could just build some shelters and live there for a while. We also have that pair of longhouses on Red Cedar island, nearby. I would teach them basic survival skills that helped me in being a good friend for Toothless... ya know... a rider who can do good deeds for his dragon instead of just demand rides all the time."

"I think that'll be your biggest challenge, son," Stoick said. "Teaching them to respect the creatures we've all been trained to kill. Ya can't take them all to dragon island and save them from the Red Death."

Hiccup grinned over at his father. "That's the thing, though. I think the dragons will meet us halfway, there. As Thuggory said, a good stable master can set any Viking on any horse. But dragons aren't horses. Besides, there's no doubt Camicazi will be at the training and I'm sure she will befriend a dragon. The Bogs will probably send Gretta, too, and I can see her on a Nightmare or Nadder. If all the students see the Burglars succeed..."

"Then jealousy will do the heavy lifting for you. Could work."

"Besides," Hiccup pressed on after an awkward silence, "I'm pretty sure the dragons will find something to like as long as a few tribes manage to find someone who can do more than just hit things. Dragons live simpler lives than us with less complex requirements to be happy, but they can still have needs a rider can fulfill. Take Skullcrusher for example. Do you know why he wanted you to be his rider?"

"I figured you or Tofa put him up to it. No, couldn't have been you since you were unconscious at the time. Musta been Tofa."

"Not even close." Hiccup chuckled. "He respects you."

Hiccup was about to go on, but decided to bite his tongue and wait for his father to say something. However, Stoick just kept rowing and Hiccup kept waiting.

And waiting.

"Uh, Dad, this is the part where you give some sort of response."

"Nah, I'm good, son. Is there more to say?"

"Dad!" Hiccup threw his head back in annoyance. "The point is you can't break a dragon the way you can a horse. The dragon chooses his rider or chooses to have no rider. Skullcrusher saw the way you conduct your life... the way you treat other people and handle trying situations. He saw your mind and your heart and wanted to be more like you. That is why he wanted to be your rider."

Stoick glanced over at his son. "So, what you're saying is there is absolutely no way we'll get more than a few riders out of all of this for our ally tribes."

Hiccup chuckled as he stood up. "Well, let's see if they take my advice and send some good people over. I'm fully convinced that anyone who just wants a dragon to use in battle won't get any cooperation at all. They could see that in a person a league away and would never allow themselves to be used as a war dog. I'll find plenty of activities dragons and riders can do together to build up a strong bond."

"Ha!" Stoick punched his son in the shoulder, sending him reeling into Spitelout, who casually shrugged the boy off. "We'll teach them how to throw bolas and build tail fins first thing. Now get off my ship. I'll see you back at home."

Hiccup sputtered indignantly at that comment as he stumbled back to Toothless. Stoick chuckled to himself as he felt the stern of the boat rise up into the air and settle back into the water from the dragon taking off.

Spitelout looked over at his brother with a grin on his face. "Bolas and tail fins. You little revolutionist, you."

Stoick grinned. "Well, at least we can say I'm giving this whole dragon friendship thing a shot. But if you see me riding Skullcrusher around town like a little pony, you'll know I really lost it and you'd have my permission to elect a new chief."

The whole crew burst out into laughter as they paddled onward toward their home and their strange future. Nobody knew for certain what tomorrow would hold, but with a smile and undaunted heart, with sword and claw, life will surely go on.

The Hooligans and their dragons would always look out for each other.

That's what friends do.

A/N:

Whew! Done. Thank you for reading! Also, if you took the time to comment or give my story a star, I'd like to thank you with all my heart! There is a lot of talent in this community and I am always grateful to hear any feedback on the good, the bad, and the ugly. Even just checking out the list of favorite stories of those who also favorite mine has led to some inspirational reading adventures.

If you're curious about more stories that have this sorta telepathy stuff, I have some suggestions.

Put down your phone/tablet, head to the library, and take gander for "Chronicles of Pern" (by Anne McCaffrey). It's actually a trilogy (if memory serves) that, aside from rider/dragon telepathy, has some interesting details regarding the social interactions between dragon riders and the, ummm, non-rider muggles.

Back to the comfort of this website, "Hitchups" (by The Antic Repartee) and "To Soar into the Sunset: A Night Fury's Odd Memoir" (by Fjord Mustang) gave me a lot of inspiration for Hiccup, Toothless, what they could do, and the nature of their relationship.

"The Truth is a Shard of Ice" (by Whitefang333) is an interesting HTTYD spinoff, but it has a bit more of a Jedi knight / demigod sorta edge than I personally prefer; It's a well-written good read, especially if you like magical dragons and a story that gives a lot of attention to all the other students in dragon training.

"A Dragon's Gift" (by anhedral), or the short one-shot called "Learning Curve", provides a lot of details on an interesting take on telepathy that I would describe as a sort of gaia-like shared consciousness. The author does a great job of presenting dragons as being as intelligent as us, but still fundamentally different in their values, thought processes, and decision-making. This also has magical demigod dragons, but does a good job of keeping consistent to the movie canon.

10Blue10's "Heart Bound" saga is fun to read and provides an interesting AU from HTTYD 1/2 that follows the main punchline of the plot, but includes some interesting deviations. It also has some pretty interesting telepathy mechanics that are consistent and well thought-out. Instead of wondering what Dues Ex machina will save Hiccup and Toothless this time, the story focuses on the moral and political implications of living/fighting alongside dragons.

But why read all that stuff when you can read more of my stories? 'Cause I'm the bestest… eh heh… well, I had to try.

When I first wrote this story, it was meant to be the one-and-only story to get the writing bug out of my system. It ended up just fanning the flames, instead, so whoops. ;) Anyway, I have a sequel that picks up where this we left off here. While it's nowhere near as terrible as the original version of Dragon Whisperer, I still wanna give it a the same sort of renovation.

I have some ideas for some more HTTYD adventures, but that will have to wait until after this renovation. Until then, I'll be revising Dragons 101. There will be some additions and small modifications, but the changes will be relatively minor. If you wanna join me for the ride, I'd be ecstatic to have your eye and would love to hear what you do and don't like and what you wanna see.

On that note, I'll leave you off with the usual farewell song of almost any special-interest group meeting (with my own unnecessary twist):

I willllll remeeeember yoooouuuu. (doo be dum, dum, dum)
Will yooouuu remeeeeember meeeee? (doo be dum, dum, dum)
Don't let your liiiiife, paaaass you byyyyyyyy.
Get your butt outside, enjoy naaaaatuuuuure.