The question came up one meeting in the clubhouse.
"I wonder what the Chief will think about this." Ruffnut asked quietly. There was silence immediately. No one had thought to contact Hiccup's father about this mess. Astrid facepalmed.
"Oh, great Odin above. Who's going to tell the chief?"
Snotlout ducked. "Not me. He'd kill me or throw me or something if I told him."
Tuff shook his head slowly. "Alas, I don't think I fit that duty very well. Stoick would think I was trying to prank him in the name of Loki." Ruff nodded in agreement.
Fishlegs shrunk a little. "I wouldn't have the guts to say it out loud." He said quietly.
"Guess it's up to me." Astrid said. "I'll send a Terror mail to him to come here and I'll meet him at the docks."
Just then, they all heard the noise of some shuffling feet along with some complaints.
"Hic-cup, you sh-ould be in your c-cave, res-resting, c-come back, p-please..." It was Akey, that unsure stutter was unmistakable. Toothless could be heard as well, and although they couldn't understand what he was saying, they could guess. Hiccup came around the corner, and for the first time, everyone saw him.
Fishlegs gasped loudly and fainted. Hiccup winced as he saw his friend hit the floor. Meatlug walked up to her rider and began gently licking him.
The twins just stared, jaws agape in pure shock. Snotlout took a step back.
"Hiccup, I thought- I thought you wanted to stay in your hut." Astrid pointed out, approaching him.
Hiccup nodded slowly. "I did, but I was thinking. You all deserve to see me. I should be out here trying to help somehow instead of hiding and feeling sorry for myself." Akey appeared around the corner followed by a frantic looking Toothless, and both of them immediately froze.
"Hic-cup, what- what are you- doing? You should r-rest and keep up- your- strength." Akey stated, grabbing Hiccup's forarm and trying to gently pull him back to his bed.
"No, not anymore, I want to help." Hiccup retorted, lifting his paw away from Akey. He turned back to Astrid and walked in all the way, looking at the others. Tuffnut was the first to approach, besides Astrid. He looked Hiccup over.
"Y'know, H, this is a good look for you. I'm liking the wings. You look like some sort of awesome... weredragon." Tuffnut grinned mischievously, walking around Hiccup a few times. "I bet you could even learn to fly on your own. You wouldn't need Toothless anymore with your own wings."
Toothless gave an irritated snort and rolled his big green eyes. Hiccup tilted his head slightly, the black ears on his head lifting.
"Huh. You're right. I bet I could fly, couldn't I? I'd be the first Viking to fly without dragon help. I wouldn't need to use the Dragonfly, either." Then he snorted. "You do realize Toothless needs me to fly, right?" He said, putting his paws on his hips.
Tuffnut shrugged. "Imagine the pranks you could play." He chuckled, rubbing his hands together with a fiendish smile. "Just imagine the possibilities."
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "That's not what I want to do with the rest of my life, Tuff." Silence met his words. He shrugged. "What?"
Everyone looked awkward all of a sudden. It seemed to be a touchy subject. Hiccup sighed.
"Anyway, what were you all talking about before I got here?" He walked forward and stood in front of the center table.
"You." Snotlout said. "We were figuring out how to tell Stoick."
Hiccup winced noticeably.
"I-I see." There was an awkward silence.
"Guess I'd better go Terror mail Stoick." Astrid moved out the door, but before she left, gently put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder for a moment. Their eyes met, and Hiccup smiled at her. "It'll be okay." She mouthed. He nodded slowly.
Stoick the Vast was known for a lot of things. Subtlety wasn't really one of them. As soon as the Terror flapped lopsidedly into his arms, he grabbed the parchment, and started reading.
To Stoick;
Please come to The Edge as soon as possible. Hiccup has a problem. Don't panic, bring Gobber, and any books you can on Dragon species.
-Astrid.
Stoick nearly dropped the parchment. A problem? What problem? He turned and ran toward the Great Hall, grabbing anything that looked sort of like a book on dragons, and piled it in one arm, the Terror on his shoulder squeaking as his perch ran around. Stoick then bolted toward the forge, where Gobber was hammering a sword into shape. The large blacksmith turned around and raised an eyebrow as Stoick ran full pelt into his shop with an armful of books and a Terrible terror on his shoulder.
"Eh? What's the matter, Stoick?" Gobber asked.
"This." Stoick panted, thrusting the letter into Gobber's hands. Gobber read it and his eyebrows furrowed with worry.
"Kinda myserious, aint it? What sort o' problem, I wonder?"
"Let's go and find out." Stoick stated, turning and stomping towards his house.
Stoick landed Skullcrusher on the landing pad and stepped off of the Rumblehorn, followed by Grump carrying Gobber and the sack of books. Astrid walked up to them, Stormfly following close behind.
"Alright, what's the problem, Astrid?" Stoick asked. Gobber walked up beside him, watching Astrid with a concerned expression. Astrid took a deep breath and braced herself.
"Hiccup... well... he's sort of..."
"Out with it, lass." Stoick commanded. "What's wrong with my son?"
"He's a dragon. Sort of." Astrid stated. "He's been partially transformed into one." Stoick's eyes widened. If it had been anyone else, he would have been furious for this joke being a waste of his time. But Astrid would never joke around like this, it just wasn't something she did. Stoick's hands balled into fists.
"How did this happen?" He asked. Astrid sighed and launched into an explanation of Akey, Toothless, the Edge being destroyed, and everything after that. All the while, Stoick turned pale. "Where is he?"
"In his hut. He's not feeling very well today, so, sir, I wouldn't recommend that you go in there. He's... fragile today, ever since this morning. Maybe tomorrow-"
Stoick wasn't really known for listening, either. He turned in the direction of his son's hut, Gobber following behind with a frantic Astrid.
"This isn't going to end well..." Astrid sighed. "Why won't he listen?"
"Neither o' em listen very well, lass." Gobber muttered to her. "It's a Haddock thin', I guess."
Inside his hut, Hiccup was pacing in tight lopsided circles, stopping sometimes and switching direction. It wasn't clear to Toothless or Akey what exactly what was bothering him, but something certainly was.
"Hic-cup? You- a-kay? What-t wrong?" Akey asked, watching the agitated Haddock.
"Ugh... my wings hurt..." Hiccup moaned, stretching them out and twitching them this way and that. "I don't want to be a dragon, why in Thor's name to I have to be a dragon?" He hissed. "Can't I just be normal, for crying out loud?"
Akey continued watching his pacing. Toothless tried approaching, unsure what the reaction would be.
"Y'know, I think I want fish." Hiccup said to himself. "Raw, regurgitated fish... and not just any, I want-" He suddenly dropped to all fours and began running in circles as if he was chasing his tail, then he fell over and clutched his head as if in pain. "Fish! Why do I want fish? I'm a Viking, I eat mutton and chicken, cooked, preferably, not fish! Not FISH! Not raw-w-w fiiish! Stop it!"
Toothless moaned and shook his head. "When will this end, Akey?"
"When he dies." Akey said softly. "The madness will only get worse."
Toothless growled. "I don't like it. I wish this wasn't happening, I wish-!" The Night Fury jumped when the door to Hiccup's hut suddenly opened. "Oh, I thought Astrid was going to stay away today!" Toothless complained.
"Hiccup?" It was Stoick's voice.
Toothless winced. "Oh no, not HIM... Hiccup isn't going to like this..."
Hiccup hadn't seemed to notice his father's presence yet, groaning "I don't want raw fish" over and over under his breath.
"Who's that?" Akey asked, sounding confused.
"Hiccup's father. The hugest, most intimidating, most senselessly stubborn and insensitive Viking in this whole world. If there's anything Hiccup doesn't need right now... It's whatever that man is going to do." Toothless hissed.
"Uh oh." Akey muttered.
Stoick came up the stairs, and that's when Hiccup noticed him. The young man sat bolt upright and stared, frozen, at his father. Stoick stared back, shock clear on his features.
"What in the name of Odin's beard-?"
Hiccup panicked, turning and bolting under the bed and tucking his wings and tail in as fast as was possible. In moments, he was hidden, hissing from underneath.
"Was that Hiccup?" Stoick asked, turning to Toothless and Akey for answers. Both of them nodded slowly. Stoick approached the bed, causing Hiccup to go from hissing to growling. "Son?" Stoick asked, lowering his massive frame and peeking underneath the bed. A pair of glowing green eyes stared back.
"Stay away." Hiccup hissed, speaking in dragon, surprisingly enough. Whether he actually knew what he had just said was anyone's guess. Toothless' jaw dropped slightly.
"Did he just...?" The Night Fury asked.
"He spoke in dragonese." Akey replied. "It's normal, though I doubt he knows what he just said. Transformation doesn't necessarily mean understanding the language, though, it might happen, who knows..." Stoick had no clue what had just transpired, but he was confused why his son was growling at him.
"Son? Hiccup, it's me. Calm down and come out of there."
"No! I said stay away from me!" Hiccup growled. "Stay away!"
"Hiccup?" Stoick asked, terribly confused.
"He said- he wants you to- ba-ack off." Akey said helpfully. "He's spe-eaking in drago-n-nese." Stoick turned to Akey in amazement.
"Why not Norse?"
Akey shrugged. "I do-on't kno-w. He prob-bly do-esn't ev-e-n know Wha-at's hap-pening, or what- lang-guage he-s speak-king." Stoick furrowed his eyebrows and turned back to the bed.
"Hiccup, come out. There's nothing to be afraid of." Toothless was getting irritated with Stoick's constant pushing of Hiccup, whose mental state was not at full strength. He walked forward and gave a warning growl. Stoick ignored him. "Hiccup-"
"I said no!" Hiccup roared, instinctively opening his mouth and building something he didn't know he had. A blueish purple glow formed in his throat and lungs, showing through his thinner human skin with an ominous sound. "B-b-back- back off!" Stoick wisely backed off, surprised at the glow and the volume of his son's dragon noises. But Hiccup had started something he didn't know how to control and began to panic as his blast built up more than was necessary. "Help me!" He yelled in Norse.
"Shoot it, Hic-cup!" Akey yelled. "You'll hu-rt yourself!"
Hiccup released the blast upwards, and it tore a hole through his bed and blew up when it hit the ceiling, causing a huge explosion. The roof was blown in all directions, including outside, and the sides of the hut were not in good shape either.
The hut collapsed.
