"That's not a very fair question, Gobber."

"It's not meant to be Stoick. You couldn't live with who Hiccup was. Which is understandable to a point. Your family have always been, large, dragon killin', leaders, who don't take no for an answer and don't like when things don't go their way. You're like that, your father was like that, and I'm sure his father was like that too.

I'm sure Hiccup's like that a bit too. He isn't big, not like you and me at least. But he's grown up, he ain't no kid anymore. At least not the one that was chased out of Berk. Plus I doubt he likes when things don't work out for him, or when he can't do something. And without a doubt he's become a leader. These damned things respect him, look to him for answers. He is running this place better than any chief has run their village, including you Stoick." Gobber leaned against a table, and watched Stoick frown at him. "I don't mean any disrespect, Stoick. But it's obvious that Hiccup has put in a lot of time thinking about how this place runs. From food and supplies, to sleeping arrangements, to special places certain dragons live. I know I haven't been here long but it's easy to tell that even packed full of dragons, this place is running well. And you know why that is?"

"No, Gobber, I don't."

"It's because that boy loves solving problems. You tell him to fix something, he will come up with some sort of solution. It may not be great at first but he won't settle for anything less than perfect. I'm sure there are problems here that we don't see but they're working well enough at the moment. I'd also bet that Hiccup still has plans to make those things better and better."

"Gobber, what does this have to do with me accepting Hiccup?"

"You are a problem he wants to solve. You just gotta let 'em. And you gotta do the same. He never gave up on you or Berk, so you have to do the same. You fight for him and his dragons and he will feel accepted by you. You treat him like your son again and it'll do the same. You just have to be on his side, and show 'im that you aren't gonna back down when others start pushing."

"I suppose I haven't thought of it that way. But how do I know if I'm doing it right?" Gobber opened his mouth but Stoick stopped him from saying anything. "Don't answer that. I know there isn't one answer." Stoick hopped onto one of the tables. "Guess this all just means I should have been a better dad from the start. All this probably wouldn't have happened but I'd still have my son at home. Though he probably wouldn't have a tail now so that's a plus." Stoick chuckled.

"Eh, better that you weren't I say. This place is obviously much better for him than Berk ever was. Sure he grew a tail. But he also has loyal friends, and followers. Plus he got married, or mated? Marked? Whatever dragons do. And those two seem inseparable. Just the bit of time that Toothless was away during your little hunting game was enough to pick up on that. Boy seemed damn near lost without the big guy around. Don't that sound familiar, Stoick? And by the gods the panic when he came back all scratched up. Damn thing wasn't even bleeding anymore and Hiccup's freaking out about it. Coddling him like a child."

"Yeah well, if one loses the other, it's over for both."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning those attacks on us, were doing a lot more damage than we ever thought."

"You're gonna have to give me more than that, Stoick."

"From what I understand, these things can only have one lover, mate, whatever, and if one dies, the other doesn't have long. They can fight it but it'll take them eventually."

"So every one could have been two. I guess it makes sense they look after each other so closely."

"It makes sense that Hiccup is scared of a war." Stoick crossed his arms.

"Think he'll be able to go through with it?"

"If not him then the Night Fury will. But I think he knows better than to wait. He's seen enough fighting at this point to know when to attack. Plus he's smart, I'm sure any fight against him and his teams is a nightmare for whoever he's against."

"Teams?"

"Hiccup has teams that scout each village. They keep him up to date on what's going on in each village. But don't get it twisted. They are only scouts by name. The one that watched Berk could have sunk the whole village into the sea and were ready to at Hiccup's discretion." Stoick explained.

"Guess we can tack on warlord to his titles."

"There'd have to be a war for that to be true."

"You think it's okay for someone to have that kind of power?" Gobber asked. The large man began to pace.

"Luckily it's Hiccup. He's about as level headed as they come."

"Still."

"I know it's a dangerous thing to have around but it's too late now. Can't do a whole lot about it. Couldn't kill him even if everyone grouped up against him. Plus the boy ain't no warlord. He just wants to protect people."

"You believe that?" Gobber raised an eyebrow.

"Even if I didn't, there's not a lot we can do about it. Hiccup is effectively untouchable. For one he has multiple dragons I've never even seen before. Then there are things like the Fireworm princess that luckily isn't here right now, that Change Wing that isn't here right now but is one of the leaders of his scout groups. The group for Berk actually. Not to mention the others from that group alone. And if you got through all that you still have to get through Toothless. I got a chance to fight him Gobber and I didn't stand a chance. He wasn't even allowed to use his fire or claws and was clearly holding back so I didn't get hurt more. And it's not over cause Hiccup is his own monster. He may not look it but he's way stronger than he looks. I don't know what happened to him with the tail, and his skin and stuff. But Hiccup is not human. He is something that has tried to bridge the gap between us and dragons and now he's just one of them, poorly hiding in a human's shape."

"This gets more and more weird the more you talk. How could this all happen? What is going on?"

"If I knew everything I'd tell you." Stoick sighed. "There's a lot that we aren't allowed to know."

"And you don't think that's suspicious?"

"Oh it is. But if what Hiccup alluded to is true then I don't think I'm allowed to share what little he's let me in on."

"Not even me?"

"Not you, not anyone."

"That doesn't inspire confidence, Stoick."

"I know. I-I know. But he's not allowed to talk about it. Just know he's being watched and one misstep could end his way of life."

"So I have to blindly trust that Hiccup isn't a warlord, is actually just a caring leader, who doesn't have ulterior motives that an alliance with a group of humans is a part of. Then doesn't turn his back on us when he doesn't need us anymore, and instead actually wants to have Berk and potentially other villages have dragons integrate into their lives. Then on top of that there's something else going on that he isn't allowed to talk about because this whole thing could come crashing down around him?"

"When you put it like that, it sounds bad." Stoick chuckled.

"It is bad." Gobber sighed. "You are so lucky you're my best friend."

"Just another fire to jump into Gobber."