After his talk with his dad who had to go off and start preparing the island for the arrival of the other chiefs in a few days, Hiccup returned to the Dragon Training Academy because he needed to get the word out to his fellow riders of what was coming.
"All the chiefs? Here?" Astrid questioned after Hiccup had told them all of the event.
"Well it's not that different," Hiccup rubbed his arm with a chuckle. "We've held the Summit on Berk before. Remember it was a few years ago."
"Well yeah but Hiccup, that was normal chief stuff and you just had to deal with the chief heirs like Dagur the Deranged and Crazy Cami," Fishlegs spoke up.
Hiccup sputtered. "Camicazi isn't crazy, she's just a bit rambunctious."
"Pfft yeah and Ruff and Tuff are just a little dumb," Astrid flipped her hair back while rolling her eyes.
"Oh Astrid, my baby girl, you don't have to be jealous," Snotlout smoothly said as he slid up next to the blonde teen and placed his arm on her shoulder. "I'm sure that all those losses have been long forgot- ow ow ow, fingers."
Wrenching his hand off by pinching Snotlout's fingers tightly together, Hiccup's cousin whimpered in pain as Astrid pushed him back.
"Hah, that's what you get, we're not little anything," Tuffnut taunted. "We're big dumb. And don't you forget it."
Ruff cackled before pausing. "Wait a second, you muttonhead, we're not dumb. We're imbeciles."
"Can we get back on topic please?" Hiccup sagged in exasperation. "In a few days this island is going to have at least one member of every tribe and we have to show them that the dragons don't represent danger to the rest of the islands. That we aren't raising an army."
"Why not," Snotlout said. "Raising an army of dragons sounds fun."
"Because if the other tribes think that then we might go to war, and with how many people, and dragons will die in the conflict. I know that I don't want that," Hiccup answered while resting a hand on Toothless' head. He had some time to think about what his dad told him. If war broke out, then the dragons would be used to defend their new home, it would be inevitable. And being the one to train the dragons would put him and Toothless right in the middle of it, along with his friends. He didn't want to risk that chance.
Astrid bit her lip before nodding. "War would be bad, so what do we need to do Hiccup, you're the leader for this."
"Yeah Dragon Master, tell us tell us tell us," Ruffnut chanted while bouncing off her brother.
Hiccup liked the enthusiasm he was getting and was a bit surprised that they had this much trust in him to be the one to make the decisions, things really had changed on the island that now people looked to him. "We need the dragons controlled, they can't be running wild. So no rampages, no unscheduled fights and definitely nothing on fire."
"Aww, but I like it when things are on fire," Tuffnut grumbled. "Maybe just a little fire?"
Opening his mouth to tell off the boy twin he paused. "Actually yes, a little fire is a good thing."
"It is?" Fishlegs questioned the sanity of that statement.
Nodding, Hiccup moved over to a bale of hay. "Toothless, plasma blast."
The black dragon nodded and out of its maw came a burst of flaming energy which lit up the hay in a glorious fire. "See, I told Toothless to start a fire and he did so. We need the tribes to see this, because and I know this sounds crazy. Because we need them to know we are in control and that the dragons are still dragons."
"So like, we're pretending that we can use the dragons to hurt people and we aren't pretending because we can," Ruffnut scratched her head. At least that's what it sounded like Hiccup was trying to say, sometimes he said the opposite of what he meant and it confused her.
"Exactly Ruff, I'm glad you get it," Hiccup smiled happily at how the girl caught on to his idea. Him turning around to point to the other dragons meant that he missed the slight tinge in her cheeks at his praise. "We know that our dragons wouldn't ever attack someone for no reason, but that they can still do it if we tell them too. It's a careful balance of letting the other tribes know that they shouldn't mess with us, but also that they shouldn't fear that we will use the dragons either."
"Walk softly and carry a big stick," Fishlegs gasped after grasping Hiccup's idea.
"Yeah and then bash them over the head with the stick when they don't see you coming," Snotlout proudly added on, having missed the point of the saying.
Deciding that it would take too long to explain it in a way for his cousin to understand, Hiccup decided to just continue on with his planning. "What we need to do is show the benefits of riding dragons, and it's going to be a hard sell because we have to get the chiefs to see it."
"Well how are you going to do that Hiccup?" Astrid wondered because everyone on Berk could see the benefits after working with the dragons and their nature, but how could an outsider, let alone a chief, see it.
Hiccup looked off to the Great Hall and came to a conclusion. "They need to see a chief on a dragon."
"No, absolutely not. I do my chiefing the viking way, on the ground," Stoick protested against Hiccup's plan for him to ride a dragon.
"Dad come on, you get so many benefits of riding a dragon and it would show the other chiefs that it isn't just something for kids," Hiccup kept trying to explain while following his dad through the village. "You are someone they respect, if they see that even you use a dragon to get your duties done and better working with them, they might see it as a benefit and not just a weapon."
"But that's just it Hiccup, a chief doesn't use a dragon, it's never been done," Stoick shook his head while continuing to walk away.
"And we've never ridden dragons before, dad," Hiccup said while jumping in front of his father. "You told me that you trusted me with the dragons, to get Berk, our people to accept them. And that includes you as well."
"Son I do trust you," Stoick tried to say before he understood that if he turned away his son now it would only cause more problems because he knew Hiccup was right. It would be too hypocritical for him to have assigned Hiccup this task to integrate dragons into the life of his village and how much he trusted his son to accomplish them and then turn around and not at least give him a chance.
And it made sense that the other chiefs would see him riding a dragon as a good sign along with also affirming his status and power above any chief of the past. The presence he would have being seen by everyone riding a dragon around the village to get his chiefly duties done would help sell the idea of dragons not being viewed as Berk preparing for conquest.
"Fine, tomorrow you'll find me a dragon," Stoic said as he headed down to the docks to pull in the boat that had been attacked by a rogue dragon.
It was certainly easier said than done, that is something Hiccup would admit too. None of the dragons he presented to his father met his high standards. Which put him in the awkward position of having Toothless co-opted by his father. Hiccup was hopeful that he could find a solution because it was putting a lot of strain on Toothless to carry his dad around all day.
That was solved by them finding the Thunderdrum and to Hiccup's surprise his father had tamed it on his own.
Thankfully it didn't take long to get his father comfortable enough on Thornado and put a saddle on so it would look more official for him as a rider. Which was good as the next morning the chiefs were set to arrive on Berk.
So while Hiccup wanted to be with his father, it was decided that to be more effective if Hiccup and Toothless remained up in the Great Hall where they would be revealed. Which left him pretty anxious to know how his dad was handling the arrivals.
"Aww Stoick it will be fine," Gobber said as he watched the various ships start to pull into the harbor. The entire time the loud arguing of the various viking tribes who never got along were carried over the waters due to being in close proximity to each other. "I mean, unless something crazy happened like Oswald the Agreeable no longer being around to keep the Berserkers in check or if Bertha figured out that it was you that got drunk and stole her undergarments last Thawfest."
"That was you," Stoick gasped at how his friend clearly misremembered that affair from last year. "You got drunk and stole her undergarments. I was busy trying to keep my brother from running his mouth to all the Bog Burglar women and getting castrated."
"Agree to disagree, but here comes the first," Gobber shrugged while looking carefree as Mogadon the Meathead pulled his boat in first, likely because he wanted to try and get to Stoick as the two had a strong rivalry.
The thunking of Mogadon's peg leg on the wooden pier as he approached the Chief of Berk only to slow down when he saw that behind the infamous dragon killing chief was a thunderdrum. "So it's true then?"
"Dragons on Berk," Big Boobie Bertha gasped out at seeing that the rumors were true. Her people came up second, only because the Berserkers were screaming their heads off. But that was enough for her to realize that maybe something had changed in recent years.
"WOAH," Camicazi exclaimed as she ran past her mother to see the dragon who growled at the rapidly approaching girl. "Hiccup really did train dragons?! So did he actually take out a Red Death?"
"Ai lass," Gobber smiled, he always liked the little girl who had a penchant for nicking things when people weren't looking but mostly she hung out with Hiccup before any of the other kids on the island would. "Dragon bigger than a mountain, our Dragon Master is to be feared."
"Insanity!" a voice screamed over everyone else, shoving other vikings aside, Dagur approached Thornado with a weapon draw, intent to use it only to have his path blocked by Stoick. "Using dragons, instead of killing them."
"Enough Dagur, where is your father Oswald?" Stoick said while trying to look for the old man in the sea of other vikings.
Dagur just smiled gleefully as he sheathed his sword. "Oh you haven't heard. My father had a sudden retirement. So now I'm in charge of the Berserkers and you raising dragons into an army will not stand."
Stoick looked furious but then got a sly look of his own. "I think it's time to start the summit, the Dragon Master is waiting with his Night Fury." That worked to put a pause on Dagur's rage because even he was afraid of a Night Fury.
The last ship had just docked and with frustration it had been the Outcasts arriving. Even though they were banished, it was one of the largest tribes in the archipelago and there was no justification to bar them from the discussion, especially since Alvin had been one of the instigators on the word getting out of Berk's dragons.
Leading the other chiefs and their people through Berk would have normally been a boring stroll, but it would seem to Stoick that Hiccup had done a great job with his plan, the dragons were being shown to help around the village, such as pulling carts and depositing freshly caught fish by the mongers to take care of. While also having many sitting on rooftops to loom threateningly over the procession. Quite an effective means of intimidation to have so many dragons looking down on you, and it would have even shaken him if he didn't know the dragons weren't a danger.
As they plodded up to the Great Hall, outside the doors the other riders waited to maximize the effectiveness of the scare tactic. Stoick would have to find out who dimmed the hall by only lighting every other torch to make it look more foreboding than ever, that viking deserved a pint. He knew it was just Hiccup and Toothless inside waiting for them in the shadows, but that still caused a shiver to go up his spine.
Stomping up to take his rightful place at the head of the table, the other chiefs and heirs took their seats and waited for Stoick to begin. "As you can all see, Berk has dragons."
That was all it took to get the chieftains on their feet, yelling their demands which became a cacophony of noise that made understanding even one person impossible. Vikings were just that loud when they shouted. "ENOUGH," Stoick's voice boom and when that didn't cause them to sit down, a black mass of scale and muscle slammed onto the table.
The startling presence was more than enough to make everyone recoil at the sight of Toothless who was snarling at the loud vikings. "Toothless," a voice called from the shadows and with a metallic click on the stone Hiccup stepped out of the dark. "Not now."
The Night Fury snarled once more before leaping off the table to come to his friend's side. "So we have dragons. Let's talk about it."