Chapter 12
Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!
Thought / Dreams / Event from the past
[Voice from the past]
"Dialogue"
Letter
Emphasis
Dangerous Tone
"I'm going first!"
"No! I'm going first!"
"No, me!"
"No, me!"
"No, me!"
"No, ME!"
"NO, ME!"
"Be quiet!" Astrid finally snapped and hit both of the twin's heads with her knuckles.
Hiccup blinked, and blinked again as he stared sleepily at them before yawning then rubbing his eyes. "What's going on here?" He asked with half lidded eyes as he was still sleepy, "It's not even dawn yet".
"Sorry to wake you up, Hiccup." Astrid apologized with a sheepish grin as they finally noticed Hiccup, who was standing at the open doorway of the Haddock house, "They-" She pointed at the twins, Snotlout, Fishlegs, along with the children who had bonded with a dragon the previous day, with the exception of Elga, who were standing in front of the house, "-want to go flying again, but their parents want them to only fly after their saddles are done. I was the one who make the saddle for Stormfly, so I already made one for Elga yesterday, but I can only made a saddle for a Nadder and not other dragon breeds. Gobber said that you haven't taught him how to make a saddle yet, so we guess that you will be the one who make them for now. So, they are wondering, when are you going to make them?" She explained the problem before asking curiously.
Hiccup let out a long soft breath before walking back in, he came back out a few seconds later and handed a book to Astrid, "When Gobber wake up, give it to him. There are many blueprints of saddles inside, for many kind of dragons. Gobber will know how to make the saddle once he see them, so he will be the one who make the saddles, I will help whenever I can though." He explained to Astrid's confused face, "I need to go somewhere else today, remember? So I can't make the saddles".
"Oh, right. Okay then." Astrid nodded and handed the book to Fishlegs, "Go." She said shortly and the big boy run towards Gobber's house immediately, followed by the rest of the excited crowd. She shook her head at their antics before looking at Hiccup curiously, "When are you going out?".
"After breakfast." Hiccup answered with a smile, "I promised my Dad that we will have breakfast together first before I'm going".
"I see." Astrid nodded in understanding before a thought entered her mind, "How about your flock and Toothless? I mean, yesterday you said that Toothless can't fly on his own".
"Well, the rest will hunt fishes together and then brought them to the land in a big pile, they will eat together from the pile." Hiccup explained to her, "They all understand that Toothless can't fly without me and won't mind to share their catch, a flock is like a family".
"That's good then." Astrid said with a smile before looking up at the sky, there's still time until breakfast, "Do you mind if I go with you later?" She asked hopefully.
Hiccup blinked, he wondered why Astrid wanted to go with him, but then he remembered Keila said that Astrid had a crush on him. He blushed a bit, since he still had his crush on the girl, and he would be happy if they would go out together, but he still has his doubt about it. Besides . . . "I'm sorry, Astrid." He said with an apologetic smile, "I would love it if you go with me, but you need to stay here and help the new Riders about the dragons".
Astrid blinked before giving Hiccup a frown of confusion, "Isn't it your job?" She asked lightly.
"Yeah, it's actually my job since I'm the first Rider and all, but I need to go today." Hiccup answered as he scratched the back of his head, he then looked at Astrid with a smile, "I can't do this alone, Astrid, I need your help. I may have the most experience here, but I can't stay in Berk all the time".
"Why not?" Astrid asked in surprise, "Berk is your home, as Chief Stoick said yesterday, you can stay here for as long as you want".
"True." Hiccup nodded his head in agreement, "Berk is, indeed, my home, and always will be. Sadly, as I said earlier, I can't stay here all the time. There will be time when I have to go out of Berk and to the Nest, so I need you here to help them about the dragons at least until one of them become as good as you do".
"Why do you need to go to the Nest?" Astrid asked in confusion, "Your flock is here, right?".
Hiccup sighed and nodded, "Yes, my flock is here." He said slowly before shaking his head, "Never mind, I need to talk about this to Dad first anyway, hopefully he will understand and make the announcement later".
Astrid sighed but smiled at Hiccup, "Alright then, I will help you out with the new Riders and the villagers." She promised before looking behind Hiccup, "I will let you have time with your Dad alone then, see you".
"See you." Hiccup nodded at her and watched her walked away before turning around, only to face to face with Stoick. "Oh, morning, Dad." He greeted with a grin.
"Morning, Son." Stoick answered with a smile before wrapping his hand around Hiccup's shoulders, "How about we go have breakfast in the Great Hall?".
Hiccup shook his head, "Let's eat here, I will cook something." He said with a smile before walking inside, "There's something important that I need to discuss with you".
What is it about, I wonder? Stoick thought to himself as he followed Hiccup to the kitchen.
Hiccup hummed happily as he grilled some fished for him and his Dad, it's only a simple cooking, but he enjoyed it very much. He make sure the fishes weren't overcooked then brought them to the table where his Dad sat while waiting for him, "Here you go." He said as he put the plates on the table.
"Thanks." Stoick said with a smile before they began eating in a comfortable silence.
"About what I want to discuss with you . . ." Hiccup began after they finished their breakfast, "It's about my position as the Heir of Berk".
"Are you worried that your position is already taken?" Stoick asked with his eyebrows raised, "Don't worry about it, you are still my Heir".
Hiccup shook his head, "That is what I need to discuss with you." He said seriously, "I'm sorry to say this, but I can't become the next Chief, Dad".
"Why not?" Stoick asked in surprise, "You are my Son, Hiccup, you're the only one who has the right to fill my position".
"I know, Dad, but I . . ." Hiccup bit his lower lip in hesitation before shaking his head and looked at Stoick straight at the eyes, "I can't become the next Chief, not anymore. I have my own people now, it will be very hard for me if I have to lead Berk as well".
Stoick looked at Hiccup in confusion, "Are you saying that you are a Chief of another Tribe now?" He asked slowly as he was at a lost.
"No, not another Tribe." Hiccup answered him and inhaled deeply, "My people are the dragons, Dad, I'm their Alpha, alongside Toothless." Stoick stared at Hiccup in incomprehension, so Hiccup explained more, "The dragons from the Nest had been under slavery for too long Dad, they don't know what to do without someone to lead them now that they are free. They were at a loss of what to do, they need someone to lead them, so they chose me and Toothless to be their Alphas, their Leaders. I, in good conscience, can't just leave them alone when they need me".
"But you are supposed to be the next Chief!" Stoick argued, "Our people need you, Hiccup, you are the best person to lead them after I retire".
Hiccup sighed and scratched the back of his head, "That's the problem, I have a whole Nest to take care as an Alpha, if I have to be the Chief as well, I don't think I can care for the both sides to the fullest." He explained, "Dad, please understand." He looked pleadingly at his Dad, "You need to choose someone else to be the Heir. My hands are already full, if I have to be an Alpha as well as a Chief, that would only lead to trouble in the future".
Stoick frowned in unhappiness, "Can't the dragons just choose another dragon to be their Alpha?" He tried to change his Son's mind, "I mean, dragon should lead dragon while human lead human".
Hiccup looked at his Dad sadly, "Not with the dragons from the Nest, Dad." He shook his head with a sigh, "You didn't see how broken they were when they remembered everything that they did under the Red Death's control, they are afraid that if they went to another Alpha species, they will be controlled once again and be forced to do something against their will. Toothless and I were the ones who freed them, they knows that we won't force them to do something against their will like the Red Death, that's why they chose us to be their Alphas".
Stoick sighed and massage the bridge of his nose, "Is there nothing I can say to change your mind?" He asked as he looked at his Son sadly.
Hiccup shook his head sadly, "They need me more than the people of Berk, Dad." He said softly, "You can choose someone to be your Heir, the one you think will suit to be a Chief the most".
"Who? Snotlout?" Stoick scoffed at the idea, the lad would destroy the village during the first week of him becoming the Chief, but then he looked at Hiccup with resigned smile, "I wasn't a good father to you, was I? I never listened to you in the past, when I should care and listen to you like a good father, and I always treated you as your Chief instead of your father".
"Don't blame yourself, Dad." Hiccup reached a hand to touch Stoick's hand, "It's hard to be a father while you have a village to care for, I don't blame you for what had happened, let the past be in the past." He said with a gentle smile.
Stoick answered with a small smile before chuckling, "Why am I feeling like I'm the Son, now?" He asked in a better mood than earlier, "You have grown, Hiccup." He pulled his hand from under his Son's and covered Hiccup's hand with his, "You are smart and wise, you will be a good leader, of men or of dragons." He smiled proudly at Hiccup, "Even though I'm a bit disappointed that you can't lead Berk as a Chief like what I'm hoping for, I understand that you have your own responsibility towards the dragons".
"So . . .?" Hiccup looked at Stoick hopefully.
Stoick nodded in confirmation, "You have opened my eyes, Hiccup. I now know that dragons aren't just mindless beasts, they have mind like humans." He said as he stood and walked to his Son, "Be a good leader for them, Son, lead them as best as you can." He placed his hand firmly on Hiccup's shoulder and squeezed gently, "I'm proud of you".
"Thanks, Dad." Hiccup said with a big grin on his face, happy that his Dad was proud of him and approved of his decision, "So, any idea as to who you will choose to replace my position?" He asked curiously.
Stoick hummed to himself with a thoughtful look, "I'm not very sure." He admitted sheepishly, "By law, Snotlout should be the one, but what do you think about it?".
"If you want Snotlout to replace me, you need to have him trained strictly, he need to know that to become a Chief doesn't mean he can just order people around without thinking about the consequence of his action." Hiccup answered thoughtfully, "Snotlout aside, I think Astrid will be best to be a Chief than Snotlout." He told his Dad seriously, "She is smart and strong, as long as she can keep her temper in check, she is perfect".
"You have a point." Stoick nodded in agreement, "I will discuss it with Spitelout, Gobber, and Keila first before making any decision".
Hiccup nodded in understanding, a thud then could be heard from the front side of the house, "Ah, they are back." He said as he stood up, he made his way to the front door with Stoick following behind him, they were greeted by Toothless and the rest of Hiccup's flock as soon as Hiccup opened the door.
"Let's go, Brother." Toothless said to him while giving Hiccup his toothless smile.
"Yeah." Hiccup agreed and climbed onto Toothless's back, he looked at Stoick and waved, "I will be back as soon as I can. See you, Dad".
"Be careful, Son." Stoick answered with a nod.
Hiccup nodded back and flew towards Hunterville.
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"So, basically the design of the saddle for each dragon is the same?" Astrid asked as she helped sewing the saddle for a Gronckle, since she didn't have anything else to do. She had gone flying with Stormfly and Rivera, but it kind of boring to fly alone now after she had a taste of what flying with her friends felt like, so she decided to help Gobber making the saddles.
"Yeah, only the shape that is different, but basically all of them are the same." Gobber answered as he watched the teens and Keila made their own saddles, they were impatient to go flying so Gobber told them to make their own saddles, they could go fly sooner then, "One thing that I noticed from all of them is the fact that Hiccup designed them to be comfortable for the dragons, strong and fit them well but won't restrict their movement".
"Finish!" Keila announced proudly as she held out the saddle for her dragon, earning an envious groan from the teens who still haven't finished their saddle, "Now I can go flying with Elga".
"Yay!" Elga, who had been watching them while playing with Crimson, cheered in excitement, "Let's go then, Mom!".
"So impatient." Keila said with a chuckle as she stood up, "Alright, let's go flying".
Just then, Stoick entered the forge, "Ah, you want to go flying?" He asked her.
"Yes." Keila answered, "Is there a problem, Chief?" She asked curiously.
"No, not at all." Stoick reassured her, "It's just, I need to speak with you and Gobber, do you mind coming to my house for a bit?"
"Not at all." Keila answered lightly before smiling at her youngest Daughter, "Elga, we will go flying later, okay?".
"Okay." Elga nodded in understanding.
Stoick nodded then looked at Gobber, who nodded in answer, the three of them then walked to the Haddock house, joined by Spitelout on the way.
"What is it about, I wonder?" Fishlegs asked to no one after the four adults entered Stoick's house.
"Who knows?" Astrid asked back before raising an eyebrow to the rest of the teens who had stopped working to look at Stoick's house, "What are you guys doing? If you don't finish those saddles soon, then you won't fly for today".
With that, they went back to working on their saddles.
It was some time later when the four emerged from the Haddock house that Stoick call for the people's attention, they went to the Great Hall and waited for Stoick to tell them why they were having a meeting so suddenly.
"I'm sure you all are wondering why we have this meeting, so I will get to the point." Stoick said in his booming voice so everyone could hear him, "The reason for this meeting is because I have an announcement for you, Hiccup is not the Heir of Berk anymore!".
Astrid gasped in shock and disbelief when she heard that, and the people began murmuring to each other. "But why?!" She asked Stoick in confusion, "He hasn't do anything wrong!".
"Yes, Astrid, Hiccup hasn't do anything wrong." Stoick nodded at her in agreement, "I don't want to remove him from his position either, I want him to be my Heir still, but Hiccup requested for this".
"What?" Was the only word the people could say in response.
"Why would Hiccup asked for something like that?" Fishlegs asked in confusion.
"Ha! It's clear that Hiccup finally see that I'm better than him and want to give his position to me!" Snotlout said boastfully.
"Actually, no." Stoick deadpanned, Snotlout sweat dropped and grinned sheepishly in embarrassment, "The reason why Hiccup want for me to choose someone else to be the Heir of Berk is because it will be hard for him if he had to be a Chief in the future".
Mildew snorted, "What? The boy chickened out?" He asked mockingly, "That boy is still useless".
"Say that again and I will throw you to the sea, Mildew." Stoick threatened him with a dead glare, "Hiccup has his own responsibility, he already got his hands full, that's why he feel that it will be best for someone else fill his position".
"And what is this responsibility?" Astrid asked with a frown on her face, she didn't understand why Hiccup would do this.
"The dragons." Stoick answered shortly, as if that information was enough to explain everything, "I had discussed this with Spitelout, Gobber, and Keila, we agreed that Astrid will be the new Heir of Berk".
"Me?!" Astrid gasped in shock as the murmurs started again among the people, she inhaled deeply to calm herself, "I'm honored, Chief, but why me?".
"Exactly!" Snotlout exclaimed in agreement, his voice filled with disbelief, "Why Astrid?! By law, it should be me who fill Hiccup's position!".
"We have our own reason." Spitelout told his Son as he didn't want to embarrass the boy, by telling him that he was too prideful and didn't have the brain needed to be a Chief, in front of the people. Snotlout wanted to protest, but a glare from Spitelout was enough to stop him.
"Alright, I called you for this announcement only, you are free to go back to your own activities." Stoick told them as he waved his hand in dismiss.
Astrid waited until they all gone before approaching the Chief, Gobber, and her Mother, as Spitelout had gone to have a talk with his Son, "Can you tell me why I'm chosen?" She asked them curiously, "And why Hiccup back down from being the Heir?".
"Lass, Hiccup got his hand full with the dragons." Gobber answered her, "The dragons chose him and that Night Fury to be their Alphas, he already has his own 'people' to lead".
Astrid gaped at him. The dragons made Hiccup as their Alpha? She thought in shock, Is that why Hiccup said that he can't stay in Berk all the time? Because he need to take care of the dragons?
"Hiccup was the one who recommend for you to replace him." Keila explained to her Daughter, pulling Astrid from her thought, "We agreed that you have it in you to be a leader, that's why you are chosen to be the new Heir".
Astrid couldn't believe her ears, Hiccup recommended for her? She know that she had a competitive streak, but even she never dream to be a Chief, she always thought that Hiccup will be the one who become Chief if Stoick retired in the future. "I don't know if I can do it, Chief." She said in the end.
"You can." Stoick assured her firmly, "You are smart, Astrid, with enough training, you will become a great Chief for Berk".
Astrid blushed for a bit. "If you say so." She said with a sheepish smile.
"Your mother has a good idea as from where you can start your training to be a Chief." Stoick continued with an encouraging smile, "We will reopen the Dragon Training, but instead of killing them, people will learn how to best interact with a dragon and train them." He explained as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "You will be the leader, lass. You have the longest experience as a Rider after Hiccup, I'm sure you can do it".
Astrid gasped in awe, "Really?" She asked excitedly. Stoick, Gobber, and Keila nodded in answer. "That's great!".
They smiled at her enthusiasm.
The rest of the day went in a blur, they turned the Kill Ring into the new Berk Dragon Training Academy and the teens finished their saddles. When Astrid, Elga, Keila, and the teens went flying on their dragons, the rest of the children got their parents to help Gobber making their saddles so they could go flying as well. Astrid had taken her new position as the Heir and the leader of Berk Riders seriously, she helped the new Riders to get used with flying to the best of her ability.
Hiccup returned to Berk later that evening, with many dragons following him, his flock as well as a few dragons from the Nest who want to have a Rider. Among them was a Hotburple – a cousin of Gronckle – who took a liking at Gobber, they bonded and Gobber named him Grump. Then Phlegma the Fierce had bonded with a Gronckle while Emma bonded with a Nadder, the three of them joined Dragon Training so they would know how to train their dragon the best way.
A week later, the Chief of Hunterville named Rugra the Striker and his Daughter named Ruby came to Berk with a few of his people. Surprisingly, the Chief and his Daughter were on the back of dragons, the Chief was on a Nightmare while Ruby was on a Changewing. The Berkians welcomed them with a feast, Stoick thanked Rugra for his help when Hiccup was injured in his village, and then they discussed about the peace agreement and formed the alliance.
Astrid was a bit jealous when Ruby hugged Hiccup just as they were going to return to Hunterville, Ruby saw her and smirked knowingly. "Don't worry, we are only friends." She whispered to Astrid, "Besides, I already have a boyfriend back home." She continued with a wink, causing Astrid to blush in embarrassment, before flying away with her Changewing, Breeze.
Nothing much happened after that, they went back to their daily activities and everything returned to normal. The new Riders got the hang of being a Rider and worked together with their dragons, all except Snotlout, who was still insisted that he was better than Hiccup and decided to train his dragon on his own way. Each time he boastfully said that he was better than Hiccup – therefore he would suit to be the Heir more than anyone, and each time he tried to order Hookfang – his Nightmare – to do something as if Hookfang was a mere pet, Hookfang would burn Snotlout's behind and the boy would ended up screaming then jumped into the water bucket.
Not much changed in Berk aside from the dragons who now living together in peace with them, ever since then, live had become much easier. In the past, they always did everything the Viking way, which had become the hard way now, but some of the people still stubbornly did everything the Viking way, except from killing dragons since they didn't do it anymore.
It was understandable. Most of them had bitter experience with dragons and were having a hard time looking at a dragon without remembering the past, and so it prevented them from befriending any dragon. They tolerated the dragon's presence in the village though. Stoick was one of this people, he said he was too old to train dragon, which was argued by Gobber since Gobber himself trained a dragon, so he admitted that it's hard for him to get close to a dragon when he remembered that a dragon was the one who had taken his wife.
Stoick's wife who named Valka, who was very sick in that particular dragon raid that night, had forced herself to fight. Hiccup and his mother were supposed to stay at home, because he was too young to get out in a raid and his mother needed to rest, but their house caught on fire, so they had to get out unless they wanted to burn to crisp. Stoick saw what happened and rushed to protect them, but then a dragon snatched Valka away while another tried to get Hiccup. Stoick knew that he couldn't help his wife even if he wanted to, the dragon was too far away, so he attacked the dragon who was after Hiccup.
That night was a horrible night for them, Hiccup lose his Mom while Stoick lose his wife. They believed that Valka wouldn't survive against a dragon when she was that sick. After that night, they have been drifted apart, Stoick buried himself in his duty as Chief while Hiccup tried to kill dragons using his inventions. Now that the war with dragons was over, they tried to be a Father and Son once again, trying to understand and support each other.
Hiccup understood Stoick's reason, because even he still had a nightmare about that night sometimes, so he didn't force Stoick to try and train a dragon. Astrid and Keila, on the other hand, were persistent in their effort to get Stoick try and train a dragon. Keila had lose her husband, Sam, while Astrid lose her Father that very same night, they understood what Stoick and Hiccup felt about Valka, but they still wanted for Stoick to move on from his grief and tried to train a dragon, just like Hiccup.
"Chief, please think more about it." Astrid said as she tried to keep up with Stoick as the man walked towards the boat. The man was planning to have a break from his duty as a Chief by helping Mulch and Bucket fishing, Spitelout would cover for him for the day and Astrid would help Spitelout as her training to be a Chief. "If you have a dragon, everything will become easier." She tried to reason with him, "You can go from one place to another faster on a dragon's back, your job as a Chief can be done sooner with the help from your dragon. The most important thing is, you can protect this island from a lot of things, even Alvin".
"You are right about it, Astrid." Stoick answered her thoughtfully, "Alvin knows that we have dragons on our side, he will be back".
"We have dragons on our side and we got him running in fear, but imagine if you are the one who make them running by fighting alongside your dragon!" Astrid said enthusiastically, "We don't have to worry about the Outcasts anymore!".
Stoick chuckled at her enthusiasm, "It's a nice image, lass, but in case the Outcasts coming again, I will leave the command over the Riders to Hiccup and you. I will just handle the ones on land." He said as he stepped into the boat, "I have my own reason, Astrid, please understand." He smiled at the girl and looked at Spitelout, who also walked with them but stayed silent, "I'm counting for you for today then, Brother".
Spitelout nodded at him, "I will make sure there's no problem arise, and Astrid will learn the basic of being a Chief by the end of the day." He promised.
"Right." Stoick nodded back, "When Hiccup finished with whatever he's doing in the forge, let him know that we will be on the usual place, so he can come find me if he want to".
"Sure, no problem." Spitelout said easily with a wave of his hand, "Go have your break".
Stoick grinned and nodded to Bucket and Mulch to let them know that it's alright to go.
Astrid sighed as she watched the boat left, "If only he try to train a dragon." She said under her breath.
"You have to be more understanding, Astrid." Spitelout told her calmly, "Not everyone can let go of their bitter past so easily".
"I know." She said shortly while turning around, "If you need me, I will be in the academy." She told the man and left, she got a class of newbie Riders to teach.
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To be continued . . .
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