Chapter 2: Bonfire Madness

While Hiccup tries to keep his promise to Stoick by keeping his friends out of trouble, Snotlout gets into a scuffle with a Meathead on the first night.

It was past sunset by the time the ship boarded. They docked at a quiet and lush spot under a cloudless sky, the moon and stars shining a silver glow on the island. However Gobber wasn't interested in admiring the view.

"Alright, let's move out," he instructed hurriedly, pushing down a platform from the ship to the reedy land. "We're late enough as it is!"

Most of the trip was spent with Gobber cursing the winds for being against them. It put them off course on multiple occasions, and thus made them miss the beginnings of the camp.

The teenagers rushed to grab their things. Tuffnut, not watching where he was going, leapt over the side of the ship and splashed into knee-deep water. He groaned loudly as his sister, who was standing dry on the bank, laughed at him.

"Land!" Snotlout sighed as he caressed the grass and dirt. "Sweet, sweet, solid ground…"

"We're here!" Fishlegs squealed, bouncing on his toes. He then paused to frown. "If only Meatlug could be here with me, too."

"On the contrary," Gobber interjected. "No other tribe has accepted the ways of living with dragons. It would be unwise to make them aware of our allegiance, not to mention it would be looked at as a threat." He stared into the trees distantly. "The last thing we need is a war at a camp with young Vikings like you…"

Astrid set her rucksack over her shoulder. "So none of the other tribes know about our dragons?"

"None," Gobber confirmed. "And it'd be best to keep it that way."

Hiccup glanced back at the many crates that were still hidden away on the ship. He tried asking Gobber a few times what those were all about and so far hadn't gotten a straight answer. He studied his mentor closely. "Need any help carrying those down, Gobber?"

Gobber side-glanced him. "No, I don't. In fact, I think I'll just leave them here for now… I can get them another day."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. Gobber avoided his gaze.

Snotlout breathed in the crisp air. "I smell salmon. And smoke."

Gobber grinned at the change of topic. "So we didn't miss everything! It is traditional for Viking Camp to have a bonfire. Ah, that reminds me of when I was your age…" he went on to tell them a long story of his childhood, unaware that the teens weren't listening and already walking down the path.

The path sloped upwards and was mixed with gravel and uneven roots. Hiccup was very glad he packed light; Tuffnut was wheezing from the weight of his bag, though Ruffnut was quietly snickering, so perhaps she had snuck a pile of rocks in it.

There was a flash of red in the trees, and after a few more footsteps Hiccup saw the bonfire. It was placed in the center of a clearing where many young Vikings danced and ate and chatted. The Berkians tried to get a better look, but the path led them further into the woods.

Stoick's words suddenly rang in Hiccup's head. The whole trip there, Hiccup had only occupied his thoughts with how much he was going to miss Toothless. He completely forgot about reinforcing his father's wishes like he'd promised. Slightly ashamed of himself, he decided now might be one of the last opportunities he'd get to talk to them all privately.

"Okay gang," Hiccup began. "Listen up– my dad's taking this tribe integration stuff pretty seriously. Whatever happens, try to keep a low profile, and for Thor's sake, don't stir up any trouble. Remember that we're not here for a vacation, we're representing our entire tribe."

"Since when do we ever get into trouble?" Snotlout asked, and the group collectively chuckled.

Hiccup however frowned. "I'm serious, Snotlout. No schemes, no starting fights, or anything like that. The other tribes will be watching us, and we don't want to bring shame on ours."

Or bring up old grudges, He thought to himself.

"Keep a low profile– got it," Ruffnut said with a thumbs-up.

"Don't– stir up any– trouble," Tuffnut panted. "Got it."

Fishlegs grinned. "You can count on us, Hiccup!"

"Yeah," Snotlout agreed, but his smirk wasn't making Hiccup feel any better. "That's a Jorgenson promise!"

"How much is one of those worth?" Astrid remarked, drawing a grumble out of him. She walked a little closer to Hiccup. "Why do I get the feeling we're going to be babysitting Snotlout and the twins for the next few weeks?"

"Oh, I can't possibly imagine," Hiccup smiled.

They came upon a new path and Astrid and Ruffnut went down it towards the girls huts, waving as they went. Gobber caught up at about that time and he led the boys the opposite way, and soon enough they were standing in front of a row of tired old buildings. They looked neither clean nor welcoming.

"Okay, so... which one is ours?" Hiccup asked doubtfully.

"Let's see here…" the Blacksmith pulled a piece of crumpled old paper from his trousers. "Looks like we've got hut four. Follow me."

Trees surrounded the huts in a semicircle only perfect enough to have been planted by people. Around the huts were chirping crickets and hooting owls, a peaceful contrast to the party going on a mile behind them.

"Welcome to your home away from home," introduced Gobber as he opened the door.

Hiccup examined the hut. It looked like a small house one might find on Berk… one that hadn't been inhabited for about ten years. The floor had a layer of dust that plumed as the door opened, giving the boys brief coughing fits. Cobwebs spun around five bunk beds. There were cracks in the walls and the floor creaked under their weight. Six of the bunks were already layered with bedding.

"Who else is gonna be staying here?" Snotlout asked.

Gobber shrugged. "I suppose we'll find out later tonight. Now go on and unpack your things! I want to make it to the bonfire."

The boys chose bunks and dropped their rucksacks atop them. Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs exited the hut almost immediately, chittering like birds, and Hiccup had to hurry after them. Leave it to his friends to start a war on the first night of camp.

Catching up to his friends was proving to be more difficult than expected. The uneven path would have been hard enough to navigate with two legs. It sloped down and within time expanded into the bonfire clearing. Gobber lumbered to one end of the clearing, as jolly as a kid on Snoggletog.

"Hullo there. Uh huh, I remember you. Just forgot your name is all." Gobber chuckled and continued to shout out similar greetings. One adult Viking gauged Gobber.

"You're late this year, Gobber!" The man boomed, and a few other grown Vikings huffed in amusement. "Not losing your sea legs, are ye?"

Gobber waved his good arm dismissively. "Hah! Not till Valhalla, I hope! Ah– go on and mingle, Hiccup," he advised once he noticed Hiccup. "And maybe keep an eye on your friends. Make sure they stay outta trouble. There may be a truce, but we are all still from different tribes."

"Why do I always get the hard job?" Hiccup asked. Gobber laughed.

"Go on, now! And remember to represent the Hooligans well!"

There was no point arguing with someone who was over six feet tall and had a hook for a hand. Hiccup walked away, trying with great difficulty to imagine himself dancing around a fire like some of the teens.

"Okay; now to find Snotlout, find the twins, and keep them from getting into trouble." Hiccup stood still for a second. "Then again, my dad did give them a direct order to conduct themselves… maybe they'll listen for once."

The count of Vikings seemed bigger when Hiccup was in the midst of it. Every direction there was a person, even above him, where someone was dangling from a tree branch. The red light of the campfire glowed off the Vikings' faces, making his job all the harder to find his friends. He was ready to give up when at last he spotted Astrid waving at him. She was sitting with Ruffnut and two other girls.

The two unfamiliar girls looked up. "Who's this?"

Astrid gestured for Hiccup to sit beside her. "This is Hiccup; he's one of my good friends."

"You mean boyfriend?" Ruffnut whispered with a mischievous grin. Astrid glared and punched her arm, but the twin didn't seem affected as she giggled behind her hand.

The unfamiliar girls raised their eyebrows, stood up, and walked away.

"They seem nice," Hiccup commented.

Astrid shrugged. "Visithugs. They weren't any friendlier when Ruffnut and I first found our hut."

Hiccup watched the dark-haired girls, cringing at the animosity in their eyes. "Good luck. Hey, speaking of good luck, you didn't happen to see any of the others, did you?"

"No, not since…" Astrid trailed away, her attention turning towards the bonfire. "Wait… is that…?"

Hiccup and Ruffnut followed her stare. Sure enough, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut were where she guessed, dancing around the fire, looking exactly like... well, hooligans.

Snotlout and Tuffnut were letting out unabashed 'wolf cries.' Fishlegs followed after them, not joining in on the howling but wearing a supportive smile on his face. They had the attention of nearly the whole clearing, though by the pointing and guffawing it wasn't in a positive light. Hiccup, Ruffnut, and Astrid thankfully didn't have much time to be horrified. Snotlout bumped into another teenager and put their dancing to a halt.

"Hey! Watch where you're standing!" Snotlout snapped as he got up from the ground, glaring at the strange boy. Everyone around him gasped, though he had no idea why. The boy he bumped into looked down his nose at Snotlout, his face both surprised and furious.

"Excuse me?" The boy demanded.

"Ha– you bet, 'excuse you.'" Snotlout replied, crossing his arms. "I'll let you off the hook this time, seeing as you probably don't know who I am, but try to be more careful next time."

The boy tightened his fists. Two others flanked him, the bigger of the two cracking his knuckles. Rethinking his choices, Snotlout backed away.

"Uh… I mean… my bad?" Snotlout gulped.

The strange boy sized Snotlout up. He had copper hair and a helmet with horns that looked more like teeth. "Not to worry," he said finally. "It's obviously your first time here. What can I expect from a muttonhead?"

The insult chased Snotlout's fear away. "What! No one calls a Jorgenson a muttonhead! Who do you think you are, anyway?"

"This here, you worthless imp, is Beckett," The knuckle-cracking boy sneered. "Son of Mogadon the Meathead, heir to the tribe."

Snotlout faltered at this revelation. Then he growled under his breath. "Whatever. That doesn't make him king of the archipelago…"

There was a triumphant gleam in Beckett's eyes. "So? Who are you, then? Vigor the Visithug? Heckler the Hysteric?"

There was a collective hush as the crowd watched Snotlout expectantly. Snotlout almost looked subdued, but then he puffed out his chest. "I'm Snotlout Jorgenson– son of Spitelout Jorgenson, of the great Jorgenson clan! You think you're so great? Ha! How is being called 'Meathead' any different from 'muttonhead'?"

Oohs and ahhs responded to Snotlout's jibe. Beckett's face went red with anger, and him along with his bruisers looked ready to pummel Snotlout.

Before things could escalate further, Hiccup and Astrid arrived on the scene, Ruffnut following more slowly. Fishlegs and Tuffnut had abandoned Snotlout a while ago, but when they saw backup coming they confidently stepped forward again.

"Alright, that's enough," Astrid said, yanking Snotlout to the side. Hiccup approached him with a hard look.

"Whatever happened to not making any trouble?" Hiccup growled.

"He started it with his snide comment about me being a muttonhead!" Snotlout replied hotly.

Hiccup jabbed Snotlout in the chest. "You started it when you blamed him for your own clumsiness."

As this was happening, Beckett was appraising each of the Berkians. "Something tells me these guys missed orientation," he muttered to his friends, who made grunts of amusement. "What do you say we give them our own initiation?"

The Meatheads cracked their knuckles eagerly and slunk off.

Gobber took that moment to appear. Taking no notice of their squabbling, the Blacksmith herded the Berkian teens like sheep to join him at one edge of the bonfire.

"It's time for you to be completely introduced to the camp," he explained, gesturing with his hook towards a broad-shouldered Viking who was getting to stand up on a platform. "That there is the Headmaster– a descendent of the founder of this Viking camp– so pay attention!"

Hiccup was still glaring at Snotlout who was sulking. The rest of the young Vikings congregated around them as the Headmaster took the stage.

"Thank you," the Headmaster said with a projectile voice. "All of you… welcome, welcome," he beamed widely under his bushy copper beard. "It brings me great honor to host this annual event once again. From the mysterious Visithugs–" The Visithugs at one end of the clearing broke into cheers– "–to the deranged Berserkers–" the Berserkers whistled and howled– "–I cannot express my pride in such fine neighboring tribes, and that we can gather under this sacred truce for the sake of training up the next generation… let us take a moment to commemorate the reason we are here…"

And on he went. It was enough to put Fishlegs and Snotlout in a daze and the twins in a coma. Hiccup was feeling himself drift off when he got the sense he was being watched. Glancing around, he caught Beckett staring in his direction, but not quite at him. Perhaps at Snotlout? He seemed very pleased about something, though Hiccup couldn't even try to guess why.

"We will be doing things a little differently this year," The Headmaster was saying cheerfully. "I dare not say too much– don't want to spoil it– but you can expect great things tomorrow, great things indeed… for now… you're all dismissed for dinner."

The crowd started to get up and talk again. Ruffnut and Tuffnut snorted awake, looking around in confusion, while Fishlegs subtly wiped away his drool, looking embarrassed. Gobber was the only one who seemed to have enjoyed the speech.

"Ah, and that'll be the dinner bell." Gobber said dreamily. "Just wait 'till you taste the delight of roasted turkeys!" He prodded Snotlout's stomach with his hook. "I reckon none of you have had turkey before. Follow me, I'll take you to Mead Hall."

He started in the direction of where the Headmaster was when Fishlegs cocked his head to the side.

"Um, Gobber, wasn't dinner already served?" He asked, referring to the many fish and chickens roasted on a stick that were made at the bonfires.

Gobber grinned. "Those were just the appetizers!" He laughed heartily while strolling along.

The teens stared after the Blacksmith, silent until Snotlout blabbered, "What's an appetizer?"

This made Astrid scoff and stomp after Gobber, and Fishlegs, the twins, and Hiccup followed. Even further confused, Snotlout exclaimed while chasing after them, "No, seriously! What is an appetizer?"

A/N: With friends like that, Hiccup's going to have his hands full at this camp. What could Beckett and the Meatheads be planning?

Thanks for reading- leave a review to let me know what you think!