To Chief Stoick of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I know that we do not often exchange them prior to the peace treaty signing, but I have been unable to stop thinking about a new idea. During our last visit, you said that you did not understand young Hiccup's tendency to work in the forge instead of trying to kill dragons with the other children his age. I find that I cannot understand Dagur's temperament. Would you be willing to consider a trade of sorts? It would not be on a permanent basis, but I could keep an eye on Hiccup here. There have never been dragons on Berserker Island for as long as I have been chief, so I am confident that he would be in no danger. Perhaps, I could learn more about his interest in creations and blacksmithing. Afterwards, I would happily inform you of what I discovered and you might be able to communicate with him more easily. As I did this, you would have Dagur on Berk with you. If you could learn about him, I would greatly appreciate that.

Your friend,

Oswald the Agreeable

To Chief Oswald of the Berserker Tribe,

I am doing well, but this letter surprised me. You want me to send Hiccup to you? He has never left the island with the exception of me going with him to Dragon Island once and it nearly ended in him being eaten alive by a Hideous Zippleback. It is more than him just wanting to create items. He is abnormally small for his age. I worry that he will not make it through some of the winters. Berserker Island has so many Vikings that he might get trampled. Somehow, he always seems to find danger and go towards it. I would like him to be able to handle himself better. I am not sure what I could do to help you with Dagur. Considering how your home has no dragons, would you be comfortable with him here? We have dragon attacks nearly every week. He might not be prepared for what he would have to go up against.

Your friend,

Stoick the Vast

To Chief Stoick,

I assure you, Dagur would enjoy the dragons being on your island. He has not stopped talking about killing them. Truthfully, I do not know if he is aware that there are other topics for conversations. You could determine how long he stays there if you would like. I was thinking that it would be more intuitive with us having it last for however much time is needed to get to know them. As for Hiccup, I believe that I am not so old that I could not entertain a ten-year-old for a short time at least. In addition to that, my Berserkers are calm people in spite of our name. They would put the boy in no harm. Even if he does tend to find danger, I would not let him out of my sight long enough for him to be hurt. You have my Berserker promise and those cannot be broken. I really think this could help us both. We might need fresh eyes to see our sons before we can understand them. Please, just consider it.

Oswald

To Chief Oswald,

There are no children Dagur's age here on Berk. They are two and three years younger, so he would be very lonely. We probably would have more if so many of the Vikings did not get killed by these vicious reptiles. I do not doubt that you would try to keep Hiccup safe, but I am not used to entrusting his safety to anyone besides Gobber and that is not always a guarantee either. I have considered this, but I am not sure this would work. If anything, it might put our peace at risk if Hiccup goes to Berserker Island and accidentally causes problems for your Vikings. I also do not think that we are equipped to harbor any other children.

Stoick

To Oswald,

Disregard the last letter I sent you. I just returned from putting out a fire. Hiccup destroyed a hut using a catapult I had told him not to use without supervision from Gobber or myself. I can tell he wants to help, but even two blocks of ice are not easing this headache. I cannot keep him and the other Berkians safe from the dragons and his antics. With Dagur being twelve and wanting to fight dragons, maybe he could help. If you still would like Hiccup to stay with you for some time, I am fine with this plan.

To Stoick,

Wonderful! It thrills me to receive your letter. I am sorry to hear about the hut, but I am also glad that it convinced you to try this plan. Its success will pleasantly surprise you. I will tell Dagur. Is there anything Hiccup likes that might make these new arrangements more comfortable for him?

To Oswald,

Hiccup is not overly particular. He likes to make drawings, so I suppose that would give him something to do that does not involve debris. What about Dagur? Is there anything I should expect with him?

To Stoick,

I will have some books and drawing utensils prepared for Hiccup then. For Dagur, try to keep him away from chickens. He can get rough with them. Also, try to keep him away from some of the sharper blades. He always has a minimum of five on him, though, so expect to see him suddenly pull one out to play with. I am not sure where he got that habit from. He has a bizarre laugh as well which you will most assuredly hear. I hope it does not put you at unease. We will see you at the beginning of next week.

Your friend,

Oswald

Stoick set the letter on a table and put down a block of ice that had been resting against his temple. This was going to be different. He had never paid much attention to Dagur. He thought the boy was strange, but he just assumed other Berserkers outside of Oswald were like that. If even the chief was thinking he was peculiar, maybe this was a bad idea. Stoick had enough to worry about without adding odd children to the list. Hearing a crashing sound, he realized that he had made the right choice. The man let out a sigh and headed to the source of the noise. He looked down, seeing his son with a crate of tinkering tools. They had spilled out on the ground after he tripped. The boy's face was red and he tried to pick everything up before his father could see what had happened. Realizing that he had not moved quickly enough, Hiccup's head lowered.

"Hi, Dad," he greeted. "I-uh-was going to help Gobber make a new hook for Mulch."

"Gobber can work on that alone this time. I want you to collect some of your belongings."

Hiccup looked up in confusion. "Where are we going?"

"Oswald from the Berserker Tribe is coming next week. When he leaves, you'll return with him for a short while."

The boy's eyes widened. "You're sending me away?"

He looked so hurt that Stoick regretted saying it, but he stayed firm. "Not permanently. We decided that we might be able to…understand our sons more if we spent time away."

Hiccup's face started to turn ashen. "I'm going to Berserker Island," he realized. "Were the dragons just killing me too slowly?"

Stoick began to frown. "Oswald said that his people are calm. You'll be better for learning more about another culture. When you get back, you can tell me about it."

"This is because I destroyed Mildew's hut, isn't it?"

"That is a factor," Stoick admitted, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I said I was sorry. I offered to help rebuild, but he won't let me go anywhere near the area."

"I know, so we are going to see if this can help."

"Help who?"

"Both of us."

"I don't feel like I'm being helped."

"Hiccup," Stoick said sternly, "this will help us both. Go and gather some things you want to bring with you."

"You're just tired of me being in the way" the boy mumbled under his breath, heading up to his room.

Stoick heard him and sighed. He supposed that in his place, he would have been just as disheartened to learn this news, but he did not know what else to do. Dejected, Hiccup started going through his items to look for what he wanted to bring. None of it really interested him. He would bring some clothes, but he would probably not be allowed to invent anything, so bringing tools seemed pointless.

"He could just admit that he doesn't want me here," the Berkian thought sadly. "He doesn't have to make up a story about this being some weird idea they came up with to bond."

Hiccup stopped, lowering his head slightly. He was not sure how to get his father to want to be around him. Aside from Gobber, no one enjoyed his company. If he could just add one more person to his small group, then he would be happy, but it seemed like it would never happen. Maybe Hiccup was wasting his time with those hopes. Unhappily, the boy continued to pack up a few more things.

"Well," he thought, looking at a satchel, "I could bring this in case I find anything interesting there. At least something good would come out of the trip."

The Berkian continued this for the remainder of the day. Earlier that week, Oswald had given the letter to a trader who was heading to Berk. He smiled and went in search of his son. The boy was easy to find. In an island of quiet people, all Oswald had to do was follow the noise. He heard a few animals bleating and saw several yaks running for their lives. With a sigh, the chief picked up his pace. Oswald was not even surprised when he saw Dagur pinning a yak to the wall of a barn with knives perfectly positioned under its horns. The boy grinned at him and waved.

"Look at this new game I came up with," he said.

The animal had fear in his eyes as he turned to the chief. Oswald caught Dagur's arm before he could throw another blade. Shocked, the redhead looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

Oswald just stared at him, searching his face to see if he was being obstinate. Unsure if the question was genuine or mocking, the man went over to the yak and removed the knives keeping him trapped. It quickly ran off and Dagur watched, mouth curving downwards. Oswald turned to him with a serious expression.

"You are going to collect some of your things. Next week, we'll be going to Berk."

"Berk? It's not time for the treaty signing."

"It's not, but Stoick and I have arranged for Hiccup to come here while you go there."

Dagur's jaw dropped. "You're trading me?!"

"This isn't permanent."

The boy calmed down a little. "Oh, why are we doing it?"

"We want to see if we can help one another by learning about the other's son."

The redhead made a face. "So, you getting to know Hiccup is going to make us get along better?"

"No, but Stoick learning about you will."

"That doesn't make sense."

"He'll tell me what he finds out."

"Why can't you just find out? I'm already here. You can just ask me things. I ask you stuff all the time."

Oswald sighed. "Believe me, I am well aware of that. Our plan will work. We just need time apart."

Sadness flashed on Dagur's face before it was replaced with anger. "You just want me out of here."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes, you did! You've probably been planning this for weeks. I bet you were the one to ask first. Am I right?"

Oswald said nothing, making that hurt look return to Dagur's face. He blinked away the expression and turned his back.

"Fine," he huffed. "I'll go get some stuff. I travel light anyway. Maybe I'll like being on Berk better. They actually don't seem boring like everyone here."

Angrily, the boy went to their hut and his room. He slammed the door even though no one but him could hear. Dagur knew he would bring his knives, but he would wear them, so they did not need to be packed. He would take some clothes, but there was not much else he wanted. Oswald refused to give him his own ax. If he had one, he would bring that as well. Nothing else seemed special. He finished packing faster than he expected and felt even angrier.

"I don't want to be here either if he doesn't want me to be," he thought bitterly. He kicked the bed. "Get rid of me like I'm some old boot. Who does he think he is? He's always thought Hiccup was so impressive. This plan has probably been in the works since he first saw him." The boy's anger melted into nervousness. "What if he doesn't want me to come back? After he gets to have a taste of having a peaceful son, he's not going to want to get rid of that. This is going to be permanent even if he said it won't."

Dagur sat down and saw the corner of a book poking out from under his bed. After a moment, he grabbed it and put it in his bag.

"I should bring this too. Maybe I'll find some cool dragons to draw. It's not like I'm ever going to see anything in this room again." He sighed miserably. "Might as well consider myself a Berkian now."