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DJ Rodriguez:

It's fine. I'm usually eager to read people's reviews for my stories.

Thank you, and really? I'll look into their work sometime.

And yes, Stoick has done exactly that. He knows his son is different, but he doesn't know how to handle it. After all these years, he is starting to doubt his son.

And yep, it seems Daemon and Gobber have more faith in Hiccup than Stoick does. As for what happened three years ago, that was inspired by another fanfic by the author ArtreyCroght called "Misunderstandings and Miscommunications."

And yes, from what I've heard about the original How To Train Your Dragon books, Hiccup understands dragons and they understand him. I thought that would be interesting to add.

And thank you for telling me about half the chapter missing. That was weird.

Night Eternity: Yes, Westeros will be connected to the story. If you have watched the show, Daemon and Laena have spent time away from Westeros. Or at least away from their families. This is set during that time.

Now, on with the story!

Enjoy and leave reviews!

Chapter 3: Welcome to Dragon Training!

When Hiccup woke up, he could tell that it was almost night. He quickly made his way home. When he entered through the front door, he saw Stoick and Daemon talking near the fire. He quietly closes the door and puts his sword in the holder of swords next to the door.

"-Leana and your daughters have caught some good game," Stoick said to Daemon. "Should have had them hunt again sometime this week."

"Noted," Daemon replied. He glances over to Hiccup who was trying to sneak upstairs to his room behind his father's back. He probably would have succeeded if he didn't try climbing up on all fours.

"Hiccup," Stoick said without turning around. "Dad!" Hiccup called back, feigning surprise before sighing deeply. "I have to talk to you, Dad." he said as he walked down the stairs.

"I need to speak to you too, Son." Stoick replied as he rubs his hands together nervously.

Both Haddocks took a deep breath before speaking at the same time. "I think it's time for you/I don't want to fight dragons." Blinking, the two of them looked at each other confused, "What?" they asked before looking to the confused Targaryen.

"Don't look at me, all I heard is fight and dragons," Daemon shrugged and held his hands up. Both Haddocks looked at each other and began stuttering. "Uh, you first." Stoick offered.

"No, no. You go first." Hiccup said politely.

"Okay, you get your wish." Stoick replied before putting his hands on his hips. "Dragon training. You start in the morning."

"Oh man, I should have gone first." Hiccup said with wide eyes while holding his chin. "Because I was thinking that we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings," he holds up his fists briefly. "But do we have. . . bread making Vikings." he winced internally. Why didn't you just say Blacksmith? A voice said in his head while he moves his arms around. "Or small home repair Vikings."

Stoick reaches up to the wall and gives the Viking boy a large axe. "You'll need this," he states. Hiccup yelps in surprise when he catches the axe. Daemon shook his head. The young Haddock was clearly meant to be a swordsman. Didn't Stoick remember that Daemon trained him?

"I don't want to fight dragons, Dad." Hiccup said in a slightly meek tone.

"Hiccup, you've been bothering us both for almost two years about this," Daemon said while Stoick was chuckling as if Hiccup was telling him a joke.

"Rephrase: Dad, Daemon, I can't kill dragons." Hiccup tried to sound stern while Stoick walked back to his seat.

"But you will kill dragons," Stoick said in a encouraging tone. Hiccup shakes his head. "No, I'm really extra 100% sure that I won't."

Stoick turns to him, joking tone and expression gone. "It's time, Hiccup." he says.

"Can you not hear me?" Hiccup asks in a mildly desperate tone. He turns to Daemon. "You can hear me, right?"

Daemon opened his mouth to reply but Stoick speaks before he did. "This is serious, son." He briefly takes the axe from Hiccup's hands. "When you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you."

"That's a lot of weight for me to carry, Dad." Hiccup remarked before Stoick began to adjust Hiccup's stance.

"Which means you walk like us," he went on and Hiccup made sarcastic remarks that Stoick ignored while Daemon smirked in amusement but frowned at Stoick's instructions on being like all the other Vikings. "Walk like I have a leg tied to a log and carrying a large boulder?"

"You talk like us."
"Well, that shouldn't be too hard."

Stoick places a finger against his temple. "You think like us." No! I'm not throwing away my brain! Hiccup thought. My intelligence is the only muscle that's bigger than Snotlout's. "No more of. . . this." Stoick just points at Hiccup.

The boy slumps, hurt but covers it with a sarcastic remark. "You just gestured to all of me."

"Deal?" Stoick asks.

"This conversation feels very one-sided," Hiccup says, hoping that there was a small chance that Stoick will take his no for an answer and just accept that he no longer wants to be a dragon killer. That is not the case, unfortunately.

"Deal?" Stoick demands more than asks in an aggressive tone. Hiccup slumps in defeat. So much for that. "Deal."

Stoick nods his head. "Good." he said in a pleased tone. He shakes a fist with an encouraging expression. "Train hard." He grabs his helmet. "I'll be back. Probably." he said as there was a chance that this could be his last voyage. Daemon nodded to the chief. "See you in three months, Chief. Hopefully."

"I'll be here. . . maybe." Hiccup replied. When the door closed, he set the axe down and sees Daemon staring at him from his seat at the table. Hiccup almost squirms in his spot from the stare. ". . . What?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"What happened?" Daemon asks in response.

"What happened?" Hiccup repeats in confusion as well as a nervous tone. Daemon nods in response. "Yes. What happened? This morning as well as for the past three years you have been spouting dreams of killing dragons and desperate to prove to your father that you have what it takes." he said. "The opportunity is here in front of you and you're not taking it." He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. "So, what happened that made you change your mind?"

"Nothing," Hiccup said, trying to sound nonchalantly. Daemon held his stare and Hiccup squirmed under the Targaryen's gaze. Daemon knew when Hiccup was lying, and he was waiting for Hiccup to just spill his guts. Try as he might, Hiccup couldn't lie to Daemon.

He exhaled deeply. "Okay. . . I went for a walk in the woods." he said before Daemon raised his hand. "Did this walk happen to be passed Raven Point?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah." Hiccup stuttered. "So, you went looking for the Night Fury you shot down?" Daemon asked. Slowly, Hiccup nodded. "Well, did you find it?"

"I. . . found it, but it got out of my bolas and flew away before I could do anything." Hiccup said, hoping that Daemon would buy it.

Said man stared at Hiccup intently before shrugging. "If you say so." he replied nonchalantly.

"So, does this mean I don't have to go to Dragon Training?" Hiccup asked a little hopeful. Daemon shook his head. "No. You're still going."

Hiccup gave Daemon a deadpan look that said, Come on. Daemon sighed in response. "Look, Hiccup. Even if you don't want to kill dragons, you have to protect yourself against them." he said. "That's how I go about it. I don't see dragons as mindless and soulless beasts. I don't go looking to fight them." he explained. "I only defend myself, my family and the village. The dragon heads in my home are only so that the village could respect me." He then stands up and takes the axe from Hiccup and gives him the sword he had made for himself.

Hiccup looks between the sword and Daemon before he grabbed the sword. "Leana will assist Gobber with the Dragon Training. Baela and Rheana will be there and will watch your back." Daemon said as he walked to the door.

"Well, at least it wouldn't be that bad." Hiccup said with a smile. Daemon nodded his head. "And I will check if your skills have dulled." he added before smirking. "Good night, Hiccup."

"Good night, Daemon." Hiccup replied. He sighed as the doors closed.

"Welcome to Dragon Training!" Gobber and Leana greeted as they opened the secondary gate to the Kill Ring. The teens each have excited expressions as Astrid takes a deep breath and mutters, "No turning back."

The teens enter the Kill Ring and look around in awe. "I hope to get some serious burns." Tuffnut said in a eager tone as they look around the Arena. Baela and Rheana did not share the excitement as the others did as they looked at the walls that had claw and scorch marks from past Dragon Training classes.

"I'm hoping for some mauling like on my shoulder or lower back," Ruffnut said in agreement.

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Astrid said offhandedly. If that was her way of being sarcastic, she sure sounds like she needs to work on it. "What are you guys, masochists?" Baela asked in mild disgust as her sister looked at them weirdly.

"I know, right?" The teens turned around and saw Hiccup behind them. "Dragon Training is supposed to be about avoiding those type of thing but nope. Pain, they love it." he said with a shrug. Baela and Rheana smiled, and they walked to hug him briefly.

"Oh great, who let him in?" Tuffnut asked in annoyance. The Velaryion sisters moved to say something in Hiccup's defense, but the Haddock boy held his arm up to them, silently told them to not say anything. He cleared his throat as he walked up a bit.

"Uh, Gobber and Leana." Hiccup replied. "The same people that let you in. Do you need to see Gothi? Short term memory loss is no laughing manner."

"What?" Tuffnut said with a glare. "See? You forgot what I said already." Hiccup replied with a smirk in slight amusement, and this made Baela and Rheana snort in amusement as the Thorston male twin glared. But before Tuffnut could say anything, he saw Leana glaring at her. Wisely, he didn't say anything.

"Let's get started!" Gobber called out. "The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village," he explained while twisting his hook.

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or?" Snotlout sounded innocent but he actually mocking the heir and the Haddock knew it. The Jorgenson boy and the Thorston twins snickered before Rheana asked, "How many dragons have you killed exactly?"

This caused Hiccup and Baela to snicker. Leana walked to Hiccup's side. "Just stay with Baela and Rheana. They'll watch your back." she said encouragingly. "Glad someone will," Hiccup remarked drily as he stood next to Fishlegs and Baela with Rheana on her right. Fishlegs smiled at them nervously before Gobber spoke as he and Leana walked to stand in front of the teens.

"Behind these doors are few of the many species you learn to fight!" Gobber said as he walked in front of the line of teens with Leana. "The Deadly Nadder!" he said gesturing the cage door behind him that was shaking and bird like growls are heard.

"Speed 8, Armor 16." Fishlegs said in a eager tone.

"The Hideous Zippleback." Leana pointed to a double door cage that sounded as if it had two creatures in it.

"Plus 11 Stealth times 2." Fishlegs said.

"The Monstrous Nightmare." Leana said.

"Firepower 15."

"The Terrible Terror," Gobber said. Fishlegs was now grinning widely. "Attack 8, Venom 12."

"Knowledge is power, Fishlegs but can you stop that?!" Leana snapped in annoyance that was shared with Gobber who took a deep breath to calm himself down before moving to the last cage. "And the Gronckle." he said as he grabbed the lever to the cage.

"Jaw strength 8," the husky boy whispered to Hiccup and the Valyrian sisters who nodded in response.

"Whoa, wait!" Snotlout said nervously. "Aren't you going to teach us first?" Hiccup rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going.

"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber said proudly before unleashing the Gronckle.

"Gobber, you asshole," Hiccup said in a mixture of fondness, exasperation and annoyance as the dragon flew out of its cage like an enraged rhino. "Okay, hatchlings, time to play!" the dragon said. She sounded both playful and a little angry. Then again, she must have been locked up for a while.

"Today is about survival in a Dragon Raid," Leana said as the Gronckle slammed into the wall of the ring and ate some rocks. "If you get blasted, you're dead."

"Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?" Gobber asked.

"A doctor?" Hiccup remarked a little sarcastically. He heard laughter from above and saw Daemon watching from where the chief sat.

"Burn ointment?" Baela guessed.

"Plus 5 speed?" Fishlegs asked. Rheana froze and turned to him incredulous. "How do you even get that?" she asked.

"A shield!" Astrid declared, bouncing on her feet.

"Shields! Go!" Gobber said and the teens raced to grab any shield they can find. "The most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must pick between a sword or a shield, take the shield." The blacksmith helps Hiccup grab his shield and pushes him into battle.

"Says the guy who fights dragons with one arm," Hiccup called back to him as he pulled out his sword and held his shield up. He stands next to Baela and Rheana and they see the Thorston twins fighting over a shield.

The Gronckle hovered next to them and paused as if to wait to see if they would stop and remember that they were supposed to be facing a dragon. But the twins ignored her and still fought over the shield. The dragon glanced over to Hiccup and the Valyrian sisters. "Okay, Lesson one hatchlings, is to not take your eyes off your enemy." she said and fired a ball of magma at the shield, blasting it to splinters and knocking the twins off their feet. "That's what happens when you don't pay attention."

"Thorston twins, you're out." Leana said as the mentioned twins lifted their heads off the ground. "What?" they said in confused unison.

"Those shields are good for another thing!" Gobber stated. "Noise, make lots of it and throw off a dragon's aim."

The remaining teens began to bang their weapons against the center of their shields. The Gronckle shakes her head with a disoriented expression. "Okay, I'm confused. Is there six of you hatchlings or is there forty?" she asked looking between Hiccup and Astrid.

"Each dragon has a limit of shots," Leana said as she watches the teens run around the dragon. "How many does a Gronckle have?"

"Five?" Snotlout guessed as the teens ran around the Gronckle, trying to stay out of her line of sight.

"No, six!" Fishlegs said excitedly. "Correct six! Plus the extra shot from the twins! There's one for each of you." Gobber said as Fishlegs raised his shield, happy to have his answer right.

"Hatchling, do you not remember what I said?" the Gronckle asked before blasting the shield off Fishlegs' hand. "Pay attention."

"Fishlegs, out." Gobber called out in a bored tone. Fishlegs threw his hammer and ran away screaming. "That could have been your head or hand if this was a real fight!" The Gronckle called after him.

The blacksmith then spots Hiccup hiding behind a weapons rack. "Hiccup, get in there!" Hiccup took one step outside and then the Gronckle blasted at the wall next to him. "Nope!" he said as he ducked behind the weapons rack. "Hiccup, come on!" Baela called out to him. "Fine," he sighed.

Snotlout and Astrid stood side by side and the Jorgenson decided to flirt with the blonde girl. "So, I moved into my parents' basement." he said. "You should come by sometime to workout. You look like you work out." Astrid cartwheeled away and the Gronckle blasted at his shield.

"And you're out, Mr. Jorgenson." Leana said.

"What is it with you hatchlings not paying attention?!" The Gronckle asked in bewilderment.

Now Hiccup stood beside Astrid and the Valyrian sisters. "Honestly, I never thought I'd make it this far." he said, trying to make small talk.

"And this is far as you're going to get." Astrid said and she ran to the side.

"Hiccup, duck!" Baela shouted as she tackled Hiccup to the ground and the Gronckle fired where he previously stood.

"Excellent teamwork," the Gronckle said as Leana smiled, "Great job looking out for your fellow Viking, Baela." she said to her daughter.

"One shot left!" Gobber declared then the Gronckle stopped and hovered over to Hiccup who stood up with Baela. "You smell like the Night Fury," the Gronckle said. Hiccup paused at the dragon addressing him. "Did you kill the Night Fury?" she demanded.

"Uh," Hiccup took a step back. He didn't know how to respond without getting the others' attention but decided to just nod his head subtly. If the Gronckle was surprised that he understood her question or not, she didn't show it. Her eyes widened before she growled and charged at Hiccup. Hiccup yelped as he ran away "He was the only Night Fury in the Archipelago! What did he ever do to you?!"

Hiccup grunted as the Gronckle pinned him to the wall. "Hiccup!" he heard Gobber and Leana shout. The Gronckle growled at him and opened her mouth, ready to fire at him in point blank range. Hiccup closed his eyes before he heard an explosion above his head. He opened his eyes to see Gobber pulling the Gronckle away with his hook and Leana pulling on its tail. He glanced up and saw that the Gronckle fired at the wall above him.

"And that's seven." Gobber said before spinning the Gronckle. "Go back to bed, you overgrown sausage."

"I'm not a sausage!" the Gronckle protested in an offended tone before Gobber threw her into the cage and Leana closed it. "Hiccup, are you okay?" Baela asked as Rheana pulled him to his feet. Hiccup nodded wordlessly as he glanced to the cage.

"Don't worry, kids. You'll get another chance with the Gronckle." Leana said to the other Viking kids who had formed a line already. "We'll meet at the Great Hall to discuss today's performance."

"Remember, a dragon will always," Gobber called to the teens before turning to Hiccup. "Always go for the kill." Hiccup glances between the scorch mark left by the Gronckle and said dragon's cage with a thoughtful expression.

Always go for the kill, hmm?