Just as Hiccup had anticipated, he received word that the Outcasts and Wingmaidens arrived, shortly followed by the Bog-Burglars and the Meatheads. But Alvin the Treacherous, who in spite of his good deeds for Berk the past few years, still retained the title. The mentioned hurriedly shoved his way through the crowd, needing to see Hiccup right away.
Of course, Hiccup was delighted to see Alvin again, but the moment he met with the massive brute of a Viking, Hiccup saw the look on the Outcasts chief's face, something was wrong. Everyone urgently hurried into the Clubhouse, where Zyrah, Konall, Rurik, and the Edge's newest guests stood to the side, listening intently.
"'Iccup, I regret being the bearer of bad news during this time," Alvin began, to which Hiccup slightly narrowed his brows, listening closely, "but we were attacked on our way here. Yer Meathead friends were kind enough to help us fight off the attacker, but we are down a ship and a few men."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Alvin. Did you recognize any crests?" Alvin shook his head.
"Wish I knew, but they were quite aggressive. They reminded me of the intensity of Krogan and his band of mercenaries." Hiccup frowned at this, having somewhat expected there to have been stragglers left behind by Krogan since it wasn't too long ago. If Drago could have remnants lurking about, so could Krogan.
"My sympathies… though, honestly I can't say I'm surprised people have been attacked unprovoked, as unfortunate as it is. We're living in high tensions, and we need to exercise caution with our plans." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd. With that out of the way, a more solid outline of the plan Zyrah had proposed began to formulate. The aforementioned sat off to the side, silently pleased with herself for coming up with something that chieftains of other tribes she had not met before were agreeing with.
Rurik playfully nudged his sister upon seeing the grin on her face. He could tell she was proud of herself.
Once everything was agreed upon, Hiccup left the Clubhouse to work on his part of the project. Making Toothless a new mechanical tail.
It had been years since Hiccup had attempted such a thing, and he was nervous that Toothless might reject it, but it was worth a shot.
He brought out the old blueprints of the old mechanical tail, and called for Toothless so he could take measurements. In the past five years, Toothless had grown quite a bit, and every once in a while Hiccup would have to fix the tail, especially the rods to accommodate any extra growth.
Hiccup was unsure of how much more Toothless could grow, but considering he'd seen the size of Blueheart's father… it was possible that the young Alpha had some extra growth left in him, though likely nothing too outrageous. But who really knew? After all, Blueheart could possibly grow more, but then again, she wasn't disabled.
And so began Hiccup's long night of working in the forge, even requesting Gobber's assistance. As the old master and his former apprentice worked between heating the metal, shaping it, and cooling it, they reminisced about the past, especially when Hiccup first began working with Gobber as a very young boy. It didn't take long for the topic to soon shift to Stoick, and the pair fought off becoming emotional about the late Chief.
Much like Zyrah was still grappling with the loss of her birth parents, Hiccup was still silently grieving the loss of his father. With having three teenagers to basically look after on top of running the village and managing the Riders, the young chief felt overwhelmed. He knew that he wasn't really running everything by himself, as the Riders doubled as his council, but he and Astrid were not married, so there was that one little piece missing from his life… and his heart.
Their talks about marriage had essentially gone down the drain with all the current upheaval and chaos. He did want to marry Astrid eventually, but now was not the right time. Not to mention, he had overheard Zyrah and Konall actually discussing the same topic themselves. Hiccup never brought it up, as it was personal between them, but he couldn't help but feel a little envious with how casually they were able to bring it up considering everything; that said, he was genuinely happy for them, and prayed to Freya that they could marry eventually.
His mind then wandered to a discussion he'd had with Zyrah's parents and Konall's mother before the three teenagers moved to Berk. He could see the worry Zyrah's mother, Eðla, still had about her daughter.
"Are you sure this will be good for her? Such a big move for her right after the loss she's suffered?" She asked.
"I understand and share the worry, but this is what she wants. And if she believes it'll be good for her, we have to trust her judgment. Besides, she'll have her brother and Konall." While that had somewhat assured her, Hiccup recognized that as a mother, Eðla would always worry. After all, Rurik and Zyrah were her youngest, and not being able to be there should something happen was a reasonable concern.
But during Zyrah's first few weeks Berk, she had proven her tenacity and insistence on adapting to a new village. She was not slowing down, and frankly, Hiccup respected that.
For the remainder of the night, Hiccup allowed his mind to wander and think about pretty much everything that had changed since Berkians and dragons made peace. He was proud that he was the forefront of positive change in the Archipelago, which did mostly relate to dragons, but also diplomacy with other tribes. After all, he essentially got the Outcasts' and the Berserker tribe as allies after a long period of conflict, while also establishing strong ties with new tribes beyond the usual boundaries.
The road to peace was not an easy one, but Hiccup deduced that given he survived multiple near death experiences, kidnapping, and actual attempted murder on his life, then perhaps the Norns meant for him to be the Peacekeeper. It was his destiny, and he was sticking to it
The next morning, well past dawn, Astrid made her way to the forge to check up on Hiccup, finding him in one corner crushing something with a mortar and pestle. Toothless was snoozing nearby, with a leather mat covered in shed scales next to Hiccup's desk.
"Huh, someone hasn't slept." She remarked with a light chuckle, setting her hands on her hips as she studied the blueprints tacked to the wall. Hiccup was delighted she came to check up on him, grinning at her as he poured a large bowl of what looked to be dragon slobber into the mixture he was concocting.
"Well good morning to you, too," he replied. He quickly caught her up to speed on the progress of the new mechanical tail for Toothless.
"So… we're 100% sure this will work?"
"Well, if Toothless and Blueheart are gonna follow the Light Fury to the Hidden World while we stay here on the Edge and prepare for Grimmel's eventual attack… yeah."
Astrid frowned, thinking back to the first Snoggletog with dragons that when Hiccup had given Toothless his freedom for the first time, the Night Fury rejected the tail and destroyed it. What could it mean now that Hiccup was pursuing this path again?
"So… you do understand and accept what this will mean for him, right?" Hiccup paused, knowing what she was implying. He understood why she was asking, as this was a monumental step for him.
"I do…" he replied simply. With a small sympathetic smile, Astrid joined his side, choosing to help him. Once he was done crushing the dragon scales, he took a paintbrush, dipping into the black mixture, and directed Astrid to start painting the leather of the tailfin to make it fireproof. Hiccup wanted to take all the precautions, making it sturdy but not too heavy. The iron used for the frame was mixed with Gronckle iron, increasing its durability and strength. It would only take a very close range blast of fire, or the strongest and hottest possible blast to really cause damage. The gears were secured in place, connected to Gronckle iron wires. Flexible but durable. It was a work of art, and one of Hiccup's best pieces yet.
The pair quickly finishes painting the leather, and then Hiccup called Toothless over to blast the painted leather, essentially sealing the fireproofing in.
"Perfect!"
Once Hiccup was sure of everything, he, Astrid and Toothless existed the forge with Gobber close behind, eager to show off the new tail to everyone.
By the time everyone gathered to witness Toothless taking independent flight again, it was a small crowd of Berk's allies and the Riders. It was exciting, but quite nerve-wracking at the same time. Most of the crowd save for the Riders had never seen Toothless without Hiccup, and vice versa.
Nightfire was especially curious about the whole thing, having been used to seeing Hiccup on her father's back all the time. It was going to be a big change.
Blueheart had arrived with Zyrah, followed by Konall and Rurik with their dragons, and the Light Fury.
Once the girls landed, Hiccup and Zyrah made eye contact, nodding at each other. It was time.
Both taking deep breaths, they removed the respective saddles, and Hiccup removed all the extra gear that Toothless had become accustomed to wearing 24/7. He felt weirdly… naked without it all on. But he had accepted this new step forward; that wasn't to say he wasn't going to miss Hiccup on his back. He would, quite terribly.
The male Night Fury turned to watch as Hiccup attached the new fin, and marveled at how well it matched the rest of him. No bright red or painted white skulls, just a plain, black fin.
"Alright, flex your tail, bud," Hiccup instructed, which Toothless complied. It was an entirely alien feeling to have complete control over his whole tail again, but yet… he kind of missed it. The metal pieces the ensured synchronized movement were attached securely but not too tightly.
Nightfire came to smell the fin, recognizing her father's scent on it, realizing his shed scales were used to make the paint.
It smells like you. She remarked, lending her parents a shared chuckle.
With a grin, Blueheart eagerly challenged her beloved mate to a race in the skies, and who was Toothless to turn a challenge down?
In the blink of an eye, she took off, roaring in his direction. Nightfire hurriedly joined their mother, the two watching Toothless, waiting for him. Even up above him, she could still read the mix of emotions crossing her mate's face. Anxiety, uncertainty, guilt… all understandable. She did sense a tinge of regret by the way he moved.
Another glance down and she could see both Zyrah and Hiccup's faces expressing a similar range of emotions. They didn't want their beloved dragons to leave, but it was for a reason… that they reminding themselves of.
Inhaling deeply, Toothless positioned himself, and after one last glance at Hiccup and Zyrah, he took off into the air after his mate and daughter, and was shortly followed by the Light Fury; Elin.
You three ready? She gently asked. Blueheart and Toothless shared a look. Not really, they both thought. But it was now or never.