p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"strongDay 27 - Fatherhood/strong/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;""Hiccup!" Gobber burst in the chief's doorway, just barely holding his helmet on his head. "There's been an accident down at the docks. We need yer help!"/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Toothless's head peeked over the ledge of his loft at the sound of commotion./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Hiccup sat up suddenly, his hand still holding out a wooden dragon to his infant son. A familiar transition passed over him, his shoulders straightening, his expression sobering. Even the Night Fury was used to the abrupt change. "Is anybody hurt?"/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Pouncing to the floor, the dragon padded over to his rider and tilted his head at the older viking. It had been a quiet day up until then, a lazy afternoon of rest and laughter while Astrid was training students down at the academy. Toothless' nap had been interrupted by the loud announcement, and he shook all over as if to shake off the sleepiness./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;""Not yet," Gobber assured him. "But we've got a ship sinking and we're losing resources."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"The chief was instantly at his feet, scooping up the babbling infant and taking a step forward before pausing. He glanced down at his son with a sudden expression of apprehension. "I'm supposed to be on baby duty," he explained, conflicted. "Astrid doesn't like it when I do baby duty and chief duty."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Gobber looked over his shoulder– the faint sounds of chaos could be heard from the shore. His thick brows were knitted together with stress. "There's not much time, Hiccup."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"For a moment, the young chief stood frozen in his living room, stammering as his eyes went from the infant to his mentor and back again. Then he looked down at his confused dragon and had all at once the best and worst idea of his life./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;""Toothless," Hiccup began, kneeling down to set the baby back on the floor. Excited, the infant crawled over to the dragon and began clumsily patting his scales. He squealed with delight and reached for the Night Fury's face. "Toothless, I need you to keep an eye on Bronwyk."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"The dragon hummed in understanding, looking down and sniffing the baby's head. Hiccup hesitated for a brief, unsure moment, but then dropped a kiss onto his son's forehead and stood./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;""Let's go," he told Gobber, crossing the house in just a few long strides. As he followed the older viking out the door, he looked over at his old friend and remarked, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Astrid about this."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Gobber snorted. "If you only knew how many times your father said the same thing…"/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"After his rider sprinted off with the older viking, Toothless curled into a ball on the floor and rested his head on his paws. In theory, human hatchlings were extremely helpless compared to dragon hatchlings. Unconcerned, the Night Fury hooked a claw into the baby's diaper and closed his eyes, sighing as he resumed his nap to the sound of infant squeals./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;""Hiccup!" Gobber burst in the chief's doorway, just barely holding his helmet on his head. "There's been an accident down at the docks. We need yer help!"/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Toothless's head peeked over the ledge of his loft at the sound of commotion./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Hiccup sat up suddenly, his hand still holding out a wooden dragon to his infant son. A familiar transition passed over him, his shoulders straightening, his expression sobering. Even the Night Fury was used to the abrupt change. "Is anybody hurt?"/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Pouncing to the floor, the dragon padded over to his rider and tilted his head at the older viking. It had been a quiet day up until then, a lazy afternoon of rest and laughter while Astrid was training students down at the academy. Toothless' nap had been interrupted by the loud announcement, and he shook all over as if to shake off the sleepiness./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;""Not yet," Gobber assured him. "But we've got a ship sinking and we're losing resources."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"The chief was instantly at his feet, scooping up the babbling infant and taking a step forward before pausing. He glanced down at his son with a sudden expression of apprehension. "I'm supposed to be on baby duty," he explained, conflicted. "Astrid doesn't like it when I do baby duty and chief duty."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Gobber looked over his shoulder– the faint sounds of chaos could be heard from the shore. His thick brows were knitted together with stress. "There's not much time, Hiccup."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"For a moment, the young chief stood frozen in his living room, stammering as his eyes went from the infant to his mentor and back again. Then he looked down at his confused dragon and had all at once the best and worst idea of his life./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;""Toothless," Hiccup began, kneeling down to set the baby back on the floor. Excited, the infant crawled over to the dragon and began clumsily patting his scales. He squealed with delight and reached for the Night Fury's face. "Toothless, I need you to keep an eye on Bronwyk."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"The dragon hummed in understanding, looking down and sniffing the baby's head. Hiccup hesitated for a brief, unsure moment, but then dropped a kiss onto his son's forehead and stood./p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;""Let's go," he told Gobber, crossing the house in just a few long strides. As he followed the older viking out the door, he looked over at his old friend and remarked, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Astrid about this."/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"Gobber snorted. "If you only knew how many times your father said the same thing…"/p
p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;"After his rider sprinted off with the older viking, Toothless curled into a ball on the floor and rested his head on his paws. In theory, human hatchlings were extremely helpless compared to dragon hatchlings. Unconcerned, the Night Fury hooked a claw into the baby's diaper and closed his eyes, sighing as he resumed his nap to the sound of infant squeals./p