The returning group gathered around the fire again and took their previous spots.
"Seems you're awake." Stoick slowly sat down. "Tried to wake you earlier to see if you wanted to come down to the river with us, but Toothless wouldn't let us."
"Probably for the best. I've basically just woken up. More tired than I thought. Plus a nice big meal on top of it. Lucky I didn't sleep until the morning." Hiccup yawned. Stoick chuckled.
"I know that feeling all too well. Your mom used to make this dinner for me that would put me out right away. Gods it was good. Though I do kinda remember that she usually made it when she was mad at me about something." Stoick laughed to himself. "She did always know how to win a fight." Stoick sighed. "It's a damn shame you never got the chance to know her son." He paused again. "She woulda. She wouldn't have questioned you and the dragons. Had she been the one who'd found you instead of Astrid, she would have kept it a secret. Your mother had no fear in her heart. Danger be damned if it would help in the end. Her only problem was that she didn't understand why it mattered if something was dangerous.
I guess it's lucky she married me then. It was like we needed each other to make sure that the others personality didn't get in the way of progress. I could slow her down when needed, and she could push me when I was getting behind.
I'm pretty sure I talked about one person in a relationship running ahead, and the other being at a constant pace."
"You did." Hiccup confirmed.
"Well I learned it all first hand. Seems you are too Hiccup. Wish I had a bit more of your mom's temperament. Things could have gone much smoother had I just listened. That's what she would have done."
"That's not your job as the constant pace person. You got there eventually and that's what you were meant to do."
"Yes well, had I been closer in the first place, maybe I could have made the jump. You have changed so much since you were a kid." Stoick looked off into the distance. "Just a little twig of a boy. Could barely lift himself much less a sword or axe. And I didn't get to see you become who you are now. I didn't get to see you rise to the challenge and fight your way to the top. I didn't get to see you grow up. When you left you were just, gods you couldn't have been taller than this." Stoick held up his hand. "Now look at you. You're still thinner than you should be but it's also obvious that whatever happened to you also changed how strong you are. And I wasn't there for that either."
"That's probably a good thing. There was a lot of blood. Plus Toothless wouldn't have let you get anywhere close to me, and I wouldn't want you to. Toothless went above and far beyond what anyone should have to do for their lover. I could not have asked him to do what he did for me. So it's probably good that you weren't there for that."
"I suppose that's true, but I still should have been there afterwards. At a time where I should have been your father, I wasn't. There aren't a whole lot of times where I regret something. But not swallowing my pride and hearing you out is definitely one."
"I can hardly blame you. Dragons were attacking all the time, and mom being killed by one. You not running me out of Berk wasn't going to happen. I was getting run out that day no matter what. That's just how it was going to be. You're making up for it now, that's what's important to me."
"Well thank you son. It means a lot that you're willing to allow me to redeem myself. There are probably a lot of your dragons who don't believe I should get this chance. And I know there are many people on Berk who will wonder why I want to do so at all. But I hope they learn what those I've brought with me have. These people were skeptical just as I was. But I think we've all learned from this experience. Learned and experienced something that would have been impossible had you not become what you are today." Stoick nodded his head.
"You're welcome." Hiccup said plainly. "I'm not particularly looking forward to having to redeem myself to Berk's people. They hold grudges longer than anyone and I doubt they think the score has been settled with Snotlout."
"That was a long time ago." Stoick stopped Hiccup. "That encounter was a mess. Full of egos and words falling on deaf ears. Had he listened to either of us he wouldn't have died. He made his own choice and paid the price."
"Surely that isn't how everyone sees it though. There must be a large group who thinks you're lying or trying to cover something up. People are going to call for my head."
"They can call all they want. That doesn't mean they'll get it. There were plenty of others there who saw what happened. Whether or not they lie about it is a different matter."
"Guess we'll see." Hiccup leaned into Toothless and sighed.
The group was quiet again as the day began to fade away. More wood was thrown onto the fire and idle chit chat began. A handful of them decided to take an early night preparing themselves for the flight back to Helheim's gate. Others gave some attention to their respective dragons, bonding with them a bit more. Toothless and Hiccup sat quietly, trying to keep their excitement about the others leaving. Knowing that the second everyone was out of earshot they were going to be as loud as they could.
As night took over people moved around starting new conversations with each other and some even asking Hiccup for some advice for the dragons. Hiccup felt at peace talking about the dragons with the others. He felt that he could finally be himself around other humans. And spent the rest of his night talking to them and giving pointers.
As the night wore on people began to retire for the night. Including Toothless who wrapped Hiccup up in his wing and didn't give him a chance to protest. Not that Hiccup was going in the first place.
In the morning the group packed up what little they brought along with the deer skins.
"Where ready to go." Stoick announced.
"Alright. You guys go ahead of Toothless and I. We're going to stay here and get a map drawn of this area."
"We could wait for you if you want, not like a little longer will kill us."
"Uh, no. You guys should start back. Depending on how long it takes up we'll probably be able to catch up anyway. Plus I don't want everyone back home wondering if we're actually going to return. We didn't exactly take the most timely break considering what's ahead of us. So you guys get out of here." Hiccup smiled.
"Alright then." Stoick nodded. He turned around and climbed onto Skullcrushers back. "We'll see you back at Helheim's Gate." The other humans mounted up and helped Gobber get comfortable, and headed out back to the mountain.
With the group gone Hiccup turned to Toothless and grabbed his head in his hands. "Just you and me now, prize winner."
Toothless licked at Hiccup's neck. "And take my prize I shall."
