Toothless pulled the deer to the edge of the tree line like he had for Stoick.
"Alright this is where you'll have to take over. Don't want everyone to see who really pulled this all the way here."
"That would be tragic." Hiccup placed the back of his hand on his forehead. "How would I ever live down having someone else help me get this here? I would surely die from the embarrassment alone."
"Yeah, yeah." Toothless rolled his eyes. "Just get your but out there." Hiccup chuckled at his dragon.
"So then what are you going to do? You going to try to go and get something to bring back? Or wait and show up empty handed?"
"I don't know. I'm thinking of heading back out and seeing if there's anything left but I'm pretty sure everything's been scared off by now. I think I'll go see if there's any stragglers but probably won't look for too long. I don't mind showing up without anything, even if it comes with being teased by the others. Shown up by two humans, how embarrassing." Toothless shook his head. Hiccup chuckled again.
"Well I wouldn't worry too much. They won't make fun of you for that long."
"Ugh, I can already hear it now. 'You let them beat you? How can you lead one of the hunting parties if you lost to not only Hiccup but his dad. He's old for a human. How do you lose to an old human?' And then the whole flock is going to learn about it. God's above, it'll be annoying."
"Oh it won't be so bad. But hey you still got time to go try to find something if you want."
Toothless looked back out into the trees then back to Hiccup.
"Yeah like I said I'll go see if there's anything still hanging around."
"Okay then." Hiccup scratched Toothless under his chin. "I'll see you when you get back." Toothless turned and began to run through the trees and Hiccup started to drag his stag out of the tree row. As he cleared the trees the other humans gathered around to help him. As a group they moved the deer next to Stoick's and began to compare. Both deer were nearly identical in terms of size; they even had the same number of points. The group was having a hard time deciding whos was more impressive. Eventually the dragons came to investigate what the humans were doing. Looking over their shoulders at the two deer.
"So when can we eat them?" The Nightmare asked.
"So you need something to cut them with?" The Nadder asked. She flared out her tail. "I'll let you take some of my spikes. They should be sharp enough." She offered.
"Why did you both cheat?" Skullcrusher asked.
"Wait, they cheated? How?"
"Looking at the antlers. I don't know about you but I doubt they got these back here by dragging them with their teeth." The Rumblehorn explained.
"Oh yeah they do." The Nightmare looked closer. "I know Hiccup has sharp teeth like us, but I don't think they're spaced so far apart. His mouth isn't that big."
"So?"
"Okay fine. Yes we cheated. But only because Toothless offered to help. Besides, my dad accepted Toothless' help first. So it's not like I was the first one to do it."
"I don't know if that matters Hiccup." Skullcrusher said.
"Okay well I'm not as strong as you guys. By the time I got this here by myself it would have been dark. So when Toothless offered to help I thought it was reasonable. My dad must have thought the same thing."
"And what of Toothless. Where is he?"
"He still has to, get, his, own." Hiccup fidgeted with his hands.
"That doesn't seem very fair now does it?"
"I mean, no but he's the one who offered to help. How could I turn down the help of my own mate?"
The humans around him watched quietly as Hiccup spoke with the dragons. Listening to him hiss and growl. Make sounds they didn't know humans could make. They looked to Stoick who shrugged.
"So then Hiccup, care to fill us in?" Stoick asked.
"Oh uh." Hiccup hesitated. "We were just discussing the deer. They're comparing them like we were. They're having the same trouble as we were, trying to figure out which is better."
"Well they are close, that's for sure."
"I guess we'll have to wait and see what Toothless brings back to see if it even comes down to us."
"That's true." One of the other humans said.
"And we know that thing can hunt. No doubt about that."
The group began to wait for the Night Fury to return. They figured that he wouldn't take much longer than the other two to return with his kill. But the sun kept moving and Toothless hadn't returned. Hiccup began to panic but then there was movement along the tree line, and slowly Toothless appeared dragging a massive deer. Hiccup rushed to him to help move the stag with him but stopped short when he saw the dragon bleeding heavily. Cuts up and down his body and blood drooling from the dragon's mouth while he pulled.
"Toothless are you okay?" Hiccup ran to the dragon's side. "You're hurt. What happened?" Toothless dropped his prize and huffed a few times before composing himself.
"Thing put up one hell of a fight. Found it ripping branches off a tree and got the drop on it but was strong as can be. Thought about giving up on it half way through but I got a good shot or two in and was able to put it down." Toothless looked over his kill. "I've never seen one this big before. And look at its fur, it's patterned and the horns look like they've been carved into."
Hiccup looked over the deer and was astonished at what he saw. The others also came over and were marveling at the deer's looks.
"He's quite magnificent isn't he?" A female voice rang out. Toothless and Hiccup looked to each other recognizing the voice of Freya. The group looked at the woman who entered the center of the circle of people and dragons and ran a hand over the deer. "Unfortunately I can't let you keep him. He was down here doing work for father and I'm sure he'd like that work completed sooner rather than later."
"Father?" Hiccup asked. "You mean father, father. So that means this was…" Hiccup trailed off.
"Yes. Meet Eikthynir." The woman grabbed the deer by the antlers with one hand and in the other an axe. She swung and decapitated the deer in the fell swoop. She held the head up and the body turned to ash. As the ashes absorbed into the ground the stag's body was reforming until it shook itself back to life. "Ah, there you are Eikthynir." Freya cood. "Seems you went and gotten yourself killed. Been a while since last that's happened." The deer grunted and snorted and stamped his foot. "Oh don't be like that. They didn't know any better and besides it's not like you've lost your touch. You weren't killed by some regular mortal. Meet my champions, aren't they just adorable?" The deer stared down the Night Fury and the half breed next to him. The deer stomped and snorted again. "You're very much right, an old soul. Isn't he wonderful? Look how well he took on the traits he was supposed to have." The stag looked between the two again and bowed his head before trying to turn around to leave. "Ah, not just yet." The woman grabbed the deer by the antler again and cut the massive horns on one side of the deer's head. "Now you may leave. And for you two, a prize." She handed Hiccup the antler. "Now you may leave." The stag shook himself and walked back into the trees. "You two impress me more and more every time we meet." She laughed. "I think I've chosen correctly. Not that I didn't think that before I suppose." She looked at the pair so they knew she was talking to them.