"I'm just giving it you straight. I know how much you like people talking in circles."
"Yes well it's going to be quite hard to convince people to do that type of stuff. The more you talk the more I doubt anyone would want one of these as their friend."
"Like I said you don't have to help them with that stuff. They've been getting along just fine without the help, they would just appreciate the help if possible. Besides kids don't care if it's gross, they're gross themselves. Parents will just have another kid to wash the mud off of at the end of the day."
"Gods above, now you want kids to have these things? Are you trying to burn my village down?" Stoick was nearly pulling his hair out.
"Well no, but that is a risk now that I think about it." Hiccup rubbed his chin.
"Now you think about it." Stoick sighed.
"Maybe they could live somewhere else. Close by but out of the way of the village. Look what I'm thinking is, you pair up a newborn and a hatchling, or a bit further on and you let them bond, become friends. Then they'll just grow up together. Kids will just learn what dragons are like from experience, the good and the bad."
"Must you always be so ambitious with your goals?" Stoick sighed. "How about one step at a time. Hunting trip first, then the attack on your home, then we'll figure out what to do with… integrating, how's that sound?"
"Uh yeah, that would probably be best. Sorry I tend to get ahead of myself."
"And everyone else." Toothless chimed in.
"Yeah, and everyone else." Hiccup deflated a bit.
"But that's who you are. You're the one that must always push forward. Even if no one else wants to. To find new and make new things. There's adventure in you, the want to learn and see more, to discover. It's one of the traits I like more about you, Hiccup." Toothless complimented. "The issue is that you're more adventurous than even I am. Though if we didn't have our current responsibilities I'd gladly be just as adventurous as you are."
"Really?"
"Of course. Trust me when I say that being pent up in our home isn't my favorite thing in the world. I'd much rather be exploring unknown lands and getting lost. It's not like I'd ever get bored, especially with you around. Though I think if we're going to be realistic about that, I'm sure by this point we'd have pushed our luck too far and would have died by now, or damn near it. And don't get me wrong, that wouldn't be a bad way to go. More interesting than dying quietly in our old age. But, hmm. I wouldn't get to spend so much time with you. So maybe it would be better to die of old age. Then at least I'd get to enjoy your company for as long as possible."
"It's always about me isn't it?"
"Of course it is. But there's layers to it. It's always about you for me because you're my mate. In any situation, good or bad, you are my first and most important thing I have to deal with. Your safety, your happiness, whatever it is, I have to make sure that you're doing as well as can be. To be clear, that's just how it works. Any one of us who has a mate does the same thing. They're the one you're stuck with, for lack of a better word, so you need to make sure that they're happy. If they're happy, you're happy. Right?"
"Right." Hiccup shifted, and laid back down along Toothless' back.
"But then another layer is your… Our positions. It's all about us because our decisions affect everyone. Our people could ignore them I suppose, but we give them the freedom to do so. Which is important for them to trust us as their alphas. From the very beginning we made sure that we built up their trust in us by making sure that every decision we made, positively affected as many of them as we could. Moving everyone's sleeping locations to give them better environments, setting up hunting and fishing groups to bring back food for everyone, but also letting them go out on their own if that's what they want, you even showed us how to store meat and fish so that it doesn't go bad. And gods help me with your near blind trust in anyone you think needs any kind of help. That might actually hurt people's trust in us. But I don't think it's a particularly bad thing.
You have this uncanny ability to befriend just about any of us. Just some soft words and a gentle touch and we trust you like we've been friends for years."
"We've come a long way haven't we?" Hiccup kissed the back of Toothless' neck.
"Further than I've ever thought possible and in a completely different direction."
"A bad direction?" Hiccup wondered.
"If anything I was heading in a bad direction before meeting you. Being controlled by The Queen and attacking villages indiscriminately, at her will, I would have been caught eventually. I was just lucky that it happened to be you that did. We all are really. If you didn't catch me and befriend me, we'd still be under her rule. You were able to over power her whispers in my head. You broke me free of her, and made me see what she was making us do. We weren't blind to it but couldn't stop it. You turned that around. Fixed it. Like you fix everything. And that's just another thing you're good at. Whether it's broken bodies, broken objects. Broken spirits. You can fix all that. And have for anyone who was under her control. You've been a godsend, figuratively and literally. So no, not a bad direction."
"Sorry I keep bringing stuff like this up."
"You're fine. You just need some words of encouragement sometimes."
"You know, it's funny. My dad said the same thing while we were going to get their weapons."
"Smart man."
"He actually said that you're a pusher."
"I'm going to say that's a good thing right?" Toothless asked, concerned.
"Yeah it's a good thing. Especially for me. It's like I can run ahead of you but eventually I'll slow down and you'll be there to push me forward while I rest and ready to run ahead again." Hiccup explained.
"Then he is a smart man. Am I pushing you at the right pace then, should I speed up or slow down for you?"
"No, you're doing just what I need."
"I guess that's what we get for being made for each other. Exactly what we need."