The nadder quickly joined them.
"Alright follow me." The Nadder said. "I found something that I think could work surprisingly close, so I don't think it'll be much of a hassle to break it up and bring it back. Especially with the big guy here."
"Alright then lead the way." Hiccup told them. The group set off and after only a few minutes set down again. Hiccup hopped off Toothless' back and looked around. "You're right this wasn't far at all." Hiccup looked around at a few of the trees. "Some of these seem pretty ready to go." He pointed to a pair. "Those two are choking each other out and could probably be pushed over with you three teaming up on them."
"You think so?" Toothless asked.
"Yeah it looks like one or both would come down. You could weaken the bass with a plasma blast if necessary. Though again, I don't think it'll take that much." Toothless nodded, agreeing.
"What you thinkin' son?" Stoick asked.
"I'm having the dragons push those down and then we'll be able to collect what we need from what breaks off or what we can pull off once they're down. Plus it's so close we can do a few trips and have all we need for the time we'll be here. No need to run around and collect more later."
"That works for me." Stoick said succinctly and crossed his arms.
"Alright you guys get lined up and push. Probably go, let's see." Hiccup walked around the pair of trees. "Go this way." He pointed. "It looks like they're leaning this way a bit already." Hiccup got out of the way while the dragons lined up and took various positions to push.
"Ready?" Toothless called out. The others called back and they started to push. After a few pushs with momentum the pair of trees came crashing down.
"Nice job you guys." Hiccup praised. He scratched under the Nadder's chin and pecked Toothless on the snout. He looked over to Stoick who was standing near Skullcrusher. Stoick looked at Hiccup confused. "Positive reinforcement."
"Haven't been very good at that." Stoick chuckled.
"Oh, I'm well aware of that." Hiccup smiled. "But it's what they like. And since Skullcrusher is your dragon now, you're gonna have to learn to do it."
"The damnable things got on just fine without me doing it before I was here, why do I have to now?"
"Because he's your friend. You tell gobber he's doing well don't you? And I know he's always complimenting you on how well you're doing. It's the same thing here. A simple thank you or good job does fine enough. And a good scratch under the chin. Well. They'll swear their loyalty to you for that. They're all big and mean until you get 'em under the chin just right. Then they're not more dangerous than a house cat." Hiccup chuckled. "I assure you dad, once you're used to having them around, it'll become second nature. Cause while they may not be pets, it's okay to treat them like one every once and while."
Stoick huffed, and tentatively placed his hands on the Rumblehorn's head. He curled his fingers and slowly started to scratch around, trying to figure out what the dragon liked. He soon found out and was surprised when the giant beast fell onto his side. Stoick pulled his hands back, startled.
"You're fine." Hiccup called out. "This is one of those times it's okay to treat him like a pet. Pretend it's a dog or cat, what would you do next?"
Stoick took a deep breath. He hadn't realized how much his hands were shaking before he took a step to the side and placed his hands carefully against the dragon's stomach. Slowly he began to rub them around and the rumblehorn started to purr deep in his throat. He became more confident over the next handful of seconds. He became more vigorous with his scratching and rubbing and even began to coo to the Rumblehorn.
"Isn't this supposed to be the dragon killer or something?" Toothless asked with a chuckle. Hiccup laughed with him.
"Believe it or not, my dad has always had a soft spot for animals." Hiccup smiled. "It's actually kinda funny how well livestock live on Berk. Better than some of its people, that's for sure. I remember going to the farms nearly every day to check on the animals there. Making sure that whatever was being raised there was getting everything they needed. He's a firm believer that a happy cow makes sweeter milk. So I guess that he's always figured that even if you're a beast of burden that doesn't mean you should be treated poorly. And now that the dragons are in that realm well, you can see. Like I said, he'll be the biggest defender of dragons on Berk once he understands what they're really like. This is just the start. Even when we're not around to help he's going to be pushing for a better environment for the dragons who live there."
"You have a lot of confidence in that." The Nadder said. "All we've heard and seen about him is the part where he kills us. What makes you so sure that he'll stay on our side when things get tough?"
"I don't really have any sort of hard evidence to back up what I'm saying to be honest. But this Stoick is not the same one that chased me and Toothless away from Berk. Or hunted us down until it cost him people's lives. Since then he's had a lot to think about concerning Toothless and I. And whether or not what he'd done was worth the cost. Before I killed Snotlout and injured a few others, to him I was prey, to be hunted down and killed. I was still the kid that could barely go hunting because the thought of killing a deer was horrifying to me. To him at that time he thought I'd run again and not defend myself or Toothless. So standing my ground and taking someone else's life was very much out of character.
Sorry, what I'm trying to say is, that people change. And what changes them differs from one person to the next. For my father it has to be things that he's seen for himself. And while it may not look it, he's smart, and not just in a fight. If there's one thing that I have always respected about him, enemies or otherwise, and internalize and use myself, is his ability to out think anyone no matter the situation. Don't get me wrong if a good idea comes around he's not going to ignore it. He's not so ignorant that he thinks that no one else can come up with a perfectly good solution. His advantage…" Hiccup started.
"His advantage." Toothless interrupted as he stared at Stoick tending to Skullcrusher. "Is that when he comes up with an idea, it tends to be relatively close to the final solution. They tend not to start perfectly but would likely work just fine. But when he allows others to give some input, it gets his brain churning. Hundreds of paths open up, but now it's about finding the right one. Then there are the factors at play that will change what path is needed. Damage to things like people, food supplies or other resources. It's a game they… He has to play. To find the path that does the least amount of damage to all three, sometimes having to give up one to secure the other two. Some paths are easy to see that they wouldn't work as well as others and are closed off quickly. But others are what humans call a coin flip. He doesn't know which one is better and will beat himself up over it. Trying to think about every possible obstacle is both paths but ultimately will have to choose one over the other.
Then on top of that having to turn his back on everything he's known and believed his whole life. It takes a remarkable amount of courage and strength to do that. In my opinion." Toothless bumped Hiccup, making the human look at him. Toothless stared Hiccup dead in the eye. "It's what makes him a fantastic leader." Toothless looked away. "He loses the big picture sometimes but never is it completely lost to him. It's what makes people like Stoick dangerous enemies to have. Cause one day he'll find the path that leads to your death. But it's also what makes him a great ally.
We don't know what he's going to do when things get tough. But what we do know is that he's faced with a challenge. And people like him don't back away from challenges like this, no matter the detriment to themselves. The only thing less valuable to him than his own life is the dirt under his feet, and even that may not be true."