This chapter you're about to read is based off a deleted scene from HTTYD 3 in which a flashback shows Hiccup and Stoick nursing an injured bird. This flashback was meant to foreshadow Hiccup learning to let Toothless go and like many deleted scenes it never made it to the final film which was a shame, really. It was a cute scene and it would've been nice to see more Stoick flashbacks in movie number 3. If you have the HTTYD 3 DVD and/or Blu-Ray, you can find that scene in the bonus features or to take the shortcut, just see it right here at this link:

watch?v=m2PPNEj7Jek&pp=ygUVSHR0eWQgbXkgcmVzcG9zaWJpbHR5

All right. Let's get on with the show.

Chapter 20: The Injured Bird

Berk

June 14

True to Gobber's word, Stoick eventually got over the troll-trapping incident and forgave Hiccup and Gobber. But he made Gobber promise to tell less of his crazy stories and tell more truthful ones. He also made Hiccup promise not to go troll hunting all by himself again. Hiccup promised although you could tell by the look on his face that he still would've liked to find a troll someday. And despite his own promise, Gobber still insisted that some of his stories were true – especially his stories of experiences with a Boneknapper dragon.

The next time Stoick and Hiccup went out into the woods was not to go fishing but just for a little fresh air and exercise. And exercise, Stoick decided, was something that Hiccup needed. Not only on the legs but also on the arms. So he had Hiccup bring along his toy wooden sword so that he could practice fencing and battling for when the time came that he would have to do the real thing.

And so the father and son were walking through the woods, rays of sunlight streaming through the treetops. Hiccup was way ahead of his father and he swung his small wooden sword in the air or at various trees and rocks, pretending they were rival Vikings or dragons.

"Yah! Ha! Hi-yah!" Hiccup shouted with each swing of his toy sword.

Stoick couldn't help but crack a smile over his son's playful fighting and began to laugh.

"Did you see that, Dad?" Hiccup asked pointing to a log. "This one's a Monstrous Nightmare."

He whacked the wooden sword against the log pretending that he was chopping off the head of a Nightmare. Then he glanced up and pointed to a small boulder nearby.

"And this one's a Deadly Nadder!"

Hiccup ran over to the boulder and brought down the toy sword against it still pretending he was killing real, live dragons.

"Not as deadly as me though, right, Dad?" Hiccup said proudly.

Stoick laughed. "Not nearly as monstrous either."

Hiccup smiled at his dad's compliment and continued leading the way.

"Whoo-hoo! Yeah! Ha!"

Hiccup continued to swing his sword around, pretending to fight imaginary dragons when something caught his eye and made him pause.

Hobbling on the ground a few feet away from him was a small blue bird.

Hiccup looked at the bird with a quizzical expression. It was a rather unusual sight for him. Every time he saw birds they were either flying in the sky or perched on tree branches.

What was this one doing on the ground?

Placing his sword on the ground, Hiccup knelt down to have a better look at the bird. It appeared to be dragging its wing against the ground and it twittered weakly.

"Uh, what's wrong with him, Dad?" Hiccup asked, looking up at Stoick.

Stoick knelt down beside Hiccup to also have a better look at the limping bird. Then he looked up at something above them. Hiccup followed his dad's gaze and noticed a nest resting on a high branch of the tree they were facing.

Must be the bird's home, Hiccup decided.

"He fell from his nest and broke his wing," Stoick explained. "Ah, very sad. But these things happen, son. The only right thing to do is to end his suffering."

Hiccup looked up at his father with horrified eyes. He knew just what Stoick meant by ending the bird's suffering. Stoick helped Hiccup to his feet and gently nudged him towards the direction that led back to the village.

"Head on down the path," Stoick instructed.

"No, Dad, no!" Hiccup cried.

"Hiccup," Stoick said and he wasn't even saying it in his usual stern, warning tone but in a sympathetic, try-to-understand-the-situation tone instead.

"Can't we help him?" Hiccup asked. "He's little like me." He used his fingers to show the size of the bird and began to sniffle. "Can't we help him get better?"

Hiccup could feel tears stinging the back of his eyes and he began to sniffle a little more but he didn't care. He couldn't bear the thought of a small, baby bird being in pain and separated from his family and then have to be killed for that just minutes after he was hatched. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

As he watched Hiccup sniffle and tear up, all Stoick could think about was the night of his little boy's birth and how Valka had cried similarly over the thought of their newly-born child dying so early and never having the chance to live his life. And now here they were witnessing a newly-born bird going through the same situation as Hiccup was six years ago. He quickly looked down at the bird and then back up at his sniffling son. He suddenly felt very guilty for wanting to put down an injured newborn creature. Maybe they should help this bird. After all, it wasn't like Hiccup was pleading to help a boar or a dragon or a wolf or any other large and dangerous animal just a small, harmless bird.

"Fetch me a twig," Stoick instructed after about a minute.

Hiccup stopped sniffling and looked up at his dad in surprise.

"Okay," he said as he walked towards the log they had passed by.

Hiccup snapped the tip of a small branch off the top of the log then he walked back to Stoick who now had the injured bird cradled in his palm.

"Here," Hiccup said, handing him the twig.

Stoick took the twig then held out the bird in his palms.

"All right, now hold him," Stoick said. "Very carefully."

Careful not to hurt the bird even more, Hiccup slid his hands under the tiny creature, transferring him from his dad's palms to his own. Then he watched as Stoick pulled a loose thread from his furry cloak then he knelt down in front of him and gently pressed the twig against the bird's injured wing.

"He's your responsibility now, son," Stoick said as he tied the thread around the bird's wing and the twig like a splint. "You must feed him and care for him," he continued as he moved his large hands on either side of Hiccup's much smaller hands and enclosed them around the bird. "Until he's able to fly free and return to the wild."

Stoick let go of Hiccup's hands and the father and son shared a brief gaze before Hiccup looked down at the bird. The blue hatchling chirped and ruffled its feathers in Hiccup's palms. Hiccup thought about the advice his father just gave him. It would be nice to look after a temporary pet for a few weeks. He knew that the day he would have to set him free would be difficult for him but at least the bird would be free then. After all Hiccup couldn't fly free himself like he always dreamed he would, he should at least let the bird do just that.

"I will, Dad," Hiccup whispered. "I promise."

Stoick smiled, happy to hear that. Then the father and son began to head back towards their village.

…..

Temporary Island #1

June 14

Toothless lay on his stomach against the dying embers on top a boulder he heated up as he watched a female Gronckle push her blue eggs into a small spring. The blue eggshells blended in with the clear water similar to how he blended in with the night sky as they disappeared within the spring's shallow depths.

Toothless didn't even know why he was bothering to watch another dragon's eggs hatch. After all, it was none of his business. But he had to admit he was curious. And as mischievous as some young dragons were, they were rather cute.

Moments passed and before long, Toothless could see golden glows coming from the bottom of the spring. Then came the split second of a golden flash followed by the quick, muffled sound of a rumble causing bubbles to rise up from the depths to the surface.

One by one, newborn Gronckles varying in different colors poked their tiny, bulbous heads out of the water and wobbily crawled onto the grass beside their new mother. The mother Gronckle's eyes shone with love as she lowered her head and nuzzled each of her new babies.

Toothless tried his best to picture his mother's face with that same loving expression in her deep blue eyes whenever he and his siblings were close.

He had no strong desire to look after any young ones. But once in a while he wondered what it would be like to start a family of his own – to have a mate and some young ones. Especially now that the family he was born into was gone.

But that would be impossible. He still hadn't seen any other Night Furies other than his parents and siblings in the time that he had lived on both of his islands and he had a slight feeling that he might never will.

Was he doomed to spend the remainder of his life all alone with no friends or family to care for and care for him in return? From the way things looked, he thought yes.

…

One Month Later

Berk

July 14

A whole month had passed since Hiccup and Stoick had found the injured blue bird and taken him into their home. Throughout that time, the bird had slept in a makeshift nest of twigs and leaves that Hiccup made for him on his bedside table and the boy had fed the creature little bits of bread and sometimes meat. The bird grew bigger and stronger every day and his blue feathers became more and more vibrant like the big, blue, beautiful sky.

Now on this particular morning, Hiccup looked out his window and smiled at the blue sky and the shining sun. It was the perfect morning for the time he knew would come: the time to set the bird free. He felt sad and excited at the same time. Sad because he had to let the bird go but excited to watch him fly away free like all birds are supposed to.

He turned to the chirping bird who was nestled up in the twig-and-leaf nest on his bedside table.

"Well, Mr. Bird, today's the day," he said excitedly. "Today's the day for you to go back to your home." He carefully slid his palms underneath the bird. "Come on, I'll watch you fly out."

With growing anticipation, Hiccup walked down the stairs with the bird in his palms. Once downstairs, he looked into the kitchen where he saw his dad sitting at the table and working on some paperwork.

"Uh, Dad?" Hiccup said.

"Yes, son?" Stoick said, glancing up at his son briefly before focusing his attention on his work.

"I'm, uh, I'm gonna do it," Hiccup said.

"Do what, son?" Stoick asked.

"Set Mr. Bird free," Hiccup said enthusiastically.

"That's wonderful, son," Stoick smiled.

"Just like you told me to," Hiccup continued. "We'll take care of him until his wing is all better and then return him to his rightful home, right?"

"Right," Stoick said, nodding.

"And returning him to his home is just what I'm gonna do, okay?"

Stoick nodded again. "Okay."

Hiccup nodded then smiling widely, he looked down at the bird and then up at the door.

"I can do this," he said to himself.

He began to step slowly towards the door and took a deep breath.

"I can do this."

He walked a few more steps until he was up close to the door.

"I can do this."

Keeping one palm under Mr. Bird, he reached out for the knob with his free hand. He didn't even notice tears rolling down his cheeks until he had placed two fingers against the knob.

"I can't do this!"

He pulled his hand away from the door and dropped to his knees and sobbed. Mr. Bird twittered anxiously in the sobbing boy's hands. Hiccup was crying so loudly that he didn't even hear Stoick's approaching footsteps but he did feel his large hands gently grasp his shoulders.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" Stoick asked worriedly.

"Nothing, Dad, I'm fine," Hiccup said in between sobs. "You can go back to your paperwork."

"You're not fine, son, now tell me why you're crying," Stoick said in a gentle but firm voice.

Hiccup wiped his eyes with his sleeve and looked up at his dad.

"I can't let Mr. Bird go," he admitted.

"Why not?"

"Because if I do, what if I never see him again?"

"It is a possibility," Stoick said honestly. "But remember the lessons I've taught you."

"Which lessons?" Hiccup blubbered.

"Remember when I told that a chief has to make really hard choices for his people?"

"Yeah. Does that also include animals?"

"Animals too," Stoick nodded.

Hiccup looked down at the twittering bird in his palm. His dad was right. Vikings had to make hard decisions and right now he was in the middle of making a hard one himself.

"And remember how I told you that loss comes with love?" Stoick added.

Hiccup nodded.

"Sometimes the ones we love the most stay with us for a long, long time and sometimes they stay for only a short time and have to move an even better, safer home far away from ours," Stoick continued.

Hiccup nodded again before looking back down at Mr. Bird. Stoick slid his fingers under the youngster's chin and lifted it up so that they were making eye contact.

"And who knows? Maybe he'll fly past our house and over the village with all of his friends and family once in a while," Stoick added.

That last part made Hiccup feel a little bit better.

"Well, if the lessons you've taught me are true, then I'll do it."

"Good," Stoick said as he got to his feet. "Come on. I'll walk out with you."

Stoick opened the door and still cradling Mr. Bird in his palm, Hiccup walked side-by-side with his father outside. Walking down the steps and onto the grass, Hiccup looked up at the big, beautiful sky. There was plenty of endless room in the sky for birds and other flying things to fly and in fact a flock of birds were flying by right now.

"Well, go ahead, son," Stoick encouraged. "This is it."

Hiccup nodded and held out his palms and Mr. Bird towards where the other birds were flying.

"There's all your friends, Mr. Bird," Hiccup said. "Go on back to them."

And as if understanding Hiccup's words, Mr. Bird took off from the boy's palms and flew off to join the rest of the flock.

"Be extra careful so you don't break your wing again!" Hiccup called after him. "And don't forget to visit Dad and me once in a while!"

Hiccup and Stoick watched Mr. Bird and his flock fly away until they were out of sight.

Tears began to fall from Hiccup's eyes again. He quickly wiped them with his sleeve so his dad wouldn't notice but he did and gently place a hand on his bony shoulder.

"I know it's hard for you right now son," Stoick said softly. "But you did the right thing and although you don't feel proud of it right now someday you'll feel proud knowing that you did a wonderful thing for a friend."

Hiccup forced a smile. "You know, I think I'm starting to feel a little proud already, Dad."

Stoick smiled back. "I'm glad to hear that."