Rising Tensions

It was beginning to get hard to focus, everything happening around him in a muddled blur as he walked through Berk, checking on the repairs, Fishlegs blabbing by his side about how Ruffnut was very impressed by his importance as Hiccup's assistant— although Hiccup wouldn't say that Fishlegs was necessarily his assistant.

Hiccup had spent the night tossing and turning, having woken up gasping for breath. He had dreamt that Toothless was chasing him. His big, green eyes empty of emotion and understanding, none of his personality or affection showing through. Just a fierce, murderous expression on his face as he snarled and bared his teeth. The Night Fury had managed to corner him and Hiccup had turned to face his friend, unable to get though to him, or recognize him as the dragon he loved so much.

The plasma blast had built up in Toothless' throat, Hiccup's heart racing. He had been panting and looking around frantically for a way out, but there hadn't been anything he could do. So, with a feeling of dread, he'd taken a deep breath and accepted his fate. He'd closed his eyes and waited. This time however, his mom did not come to save him, and Hiccup had jolted awake as the buildup of sound reached its peak.

Now Hiccup was struggling to get through the day, fighting against the pull to fall asleep where he stood.

"Do you think you could tell Ruffnut how great my work has been?" Fishlegs' last sentence finally broke through the fog in Hiccup's brain.

"Uh, if I run into her, I'll let her know." Hiccup agreed, if only to get Fishlegs to go away happy.

"Thanks, Hiccup! I know Snotlout has been showing off non-stop, the whole time they've been working together and it just-" Fishlegs nearly growled and Hiccup raised an eyebrow at his friend in surprise, but then Fishlegs took a deep breath and calmed down. "Well, I'm sure you know the feeling, every time Snotlout used to flirt with Astrid, right?" Fishlegs nudged Hiccup with an elbow, beginning to walk away. "I finally know how Snotlout used to make you feel."

"...completely unthreatened?" Hiccup muttered to himself as Fishlegs left to do his duties, sure that his answer was not the one Fishlegs would have been expecting. He shook his head with a sigh of exasperation. He thanked the gods that he had managed to get Snotlout and Fishlegs to work happily, albeit separately.

A loud shout and a crash made him jump, his eyes widening as he suddenly became completely alert. He turned around to see what was going on, and just in time too.

Hiccup dived and rolled out of the way as Hookfang came barreling down the street, his eyes were slits and his scales aflame. He roared loudly in fury, his tail swinging behind him and tripping people up.

"Hookfang!" Came Snotlout's desperate cry as he flailed after his temperamental dragon. "Get back here!"

A mutinous roar and a snort were the Viking's only answer, the Monstrous Nightmare jumping high and landing on the roof of a newly finished house.

"My house!" Phlegma the Fierce exclaimed. "You stupid dragon!"

Hiccup ran forward, about to try and calm down his friend's disobedient dragon, but then a loud explosion sounded from behind him and he whirled around. "What now?!"

Everyone in the area barely had time to duck and cover their heads as ice pieces came raining down on them. People were crying out in surprise and shouting in irritation.

"Incoming!" The collective voices of the twins called out in warning, all too late.

"Ah! Look what you imbeciles have done!" Another voice exclaimed in anger from a distance. Hiccup tensed, unsure of what it was that the twins managed to destroy. He didn't have much time to contemplate it as an indignant roar brought his attention back to his current problem.

Hiccup's eyes widened as he turned around. Surely, Snotlout couldn't be that stupid! "Snotlout, don't!" But it was too late, the stocky, young man tossed a container of Monstrous Nightmare gel at the flaming Hookfang.

"There, it's yours! Are you happy now?!" Snotlout barely had the chance to finish his sentence. The ceramic container smashed to pieces as it hit the house, just under where the dragon was perched, and exploded as it came in contact with the burning home.

Hiccup felt his back collide with the exterior of another house, just across the street from the burning one. All the air escaped his lungs and he felt the all too familiar feeling of losing his breath as he hit the ground with a thud. Unable to push himself to his feet just yet, he opened his eyes, dazed. Everything was blurry for a moment and all he could think about was that he'd been tossed around one too many times in the past couple weeks.

The sound of someone coughing nearby brought him back to alertness. His people. There had been a couple others in the vicinity when the house exploded. He had to get up and make sure they were okay. Hiccup forced himself to stand up, wobbling on his feet for a second.

"Phlegma?" He looked around, squinting because of the fog in his brain. Or was it just actually that smokey? He wasn't sure. "Leif?"

"We're alright." Hiccup heard Phlegma announce from his left and he turned his head. The husband and wife had taken cover behind an upturned wagon of apples, the produce now scattered and smeared across the ground. The couple looked okay, if a little wind blown. That just left Snotlout, who had been closest to the explosion.

Heart starting to race again in panic, Hiccup looked back toward the house for Snotlout, but didn't see him. "Snotlout? Snotlout!" Hiccup ran closer to the house, the smoke thicker as he neared. He coughed as he finally spotted a prone form on the ground. Snotlout.

Hiccup ran over, pausing for a second to notice the rise and fall of his fallen friend's chest, before dragging him further away from the house. Snotlout was surprisingly heavy for such a short guy. Hiccup struggled a bit as he pulled his friend safely away, until he was safe from the fire, though still unconscious. He didn't look to have any critical injuries and he wasn't bleeding.

A house was on fire, debris scattered everywhere, a plume of smoke rising into the sky— not only there, but also from somewhere on the other end of the village. The twins had exploded something along with the ice they were tasked with getting rid of.

Two explosions, one injured— as far as he knew. He needed the fire brigade, he needed to get Snotlout to a healer, he needed to assess the damage, Phlegma and Leif would need somewhere to stay for a while, repairs were needed, again.

In a matter of seconds, Hiccup had sorted through the new mess of events in front of him. He had made a list in his head of what needed to be done and in what order, based off of what was more urgent and what could wait until later. As he stood up from his place next to Snotlout he had the feeling that he had forgotten something crucial to the situation.

Hiccup cried out as something threw him to the side. As he rolled to a stop, sliding across the grass, he remembered what he had forgotten. One temperamental, angry Monstrous Nightmare.

Hookfang now stood protectively over his rider, eyes still in slits, hissing at anyone and everything. He had seen his rider thrown back by the explosion, had seen as he hadn't gotten back up. The dragon had gone instantly into protective mode, sparing little thought for anything else.

With a groan Hiccup heaved himself back up, breathing hard from the effort. Today was definitely taking its toll on him and he really wished he had at least gotten a decent amount of sleep the night before.

"Are you okay?" Eret appeared by his side, or maybe he had been there for a while. Hiccup wasn't quite sure, but he was suddenly pretty sure that the man had helped haul him to his feet. Hiccup didn't think he could have managed that on his own, especially since he found that he was currently leaning on his new friend as he tried to regain his footing.

"Settle down you great beast!" Gobber was waving his hammer prosthetic at Hookfang, who hissed back and swiped a claw through the air threateningly.

"We're trying to help him!" Spitelout desperately tried to get closer to his unconscious son, but fell backward as he dodged a long set of sharp claws.

"Where's Toothless!" Frida, Snotlout's mother, asked around. "He can tell Hookfang to back off!"

Toothless was no where to be found and Hookfang wouldn't calm down. The Monstrous Nightmare continued to stand guard over his rider, swiping at anyone who came too close. Firing sporadically, causing more damage and endangering more people.

Hiccup glanced around at the chaos. He needed to do something. Toothless wasn't there, he hadn't returned home the previous night and Hiccup was pretty sure that the new alpha had been helping out in the crowded, underground stables. Settling disputes between territorial breeds, helping Drago's former dragons feel safe, finding places for the nest-dragons to settle in.

It suddenly dawned on Hiccup that he wasn't just assuming what his dragon brother was doing, he knew. Their newfound, enhanced connection was a mystery to him, but he could feel it. Toothless was aware of his distress, Hiccup knew that too. Toothless was coming, but it would take longer than they had for him to get here. The situation was escalating.

'Tell him to stop.'

Hiccup startled as the thought entered his head. He narrowed his eyes in determination as he watched Hookfang hiss. It was only a matter of time before the asinine dragon flamed up in his fury, which would only endanger Snotlout further. Hiccup stood up straight, releasing himself from Eret's assisting hold. Without hesitation, he pushed though the crowd of Vikings and toward the crazed dragon.

There were multiple warnings from people telling him to be careful. Gobber reached out, almost managing to grab hold of his young friend to pull him back, but Hiccup continued forward.

"Enough!" Hiccup shouted as he drew closer, exiting the gathered group of Berkians. Hookfang turned his narrowed eyes to the newcomer and hissed. He reared back, readying to defend his rider with a swipe of his claws, but Hiccup raised his hand up and glared intensely at the dragon. "Stop!"

Hookfang froze, mid-swipe, his claws inches from Hiccup, who stood his ground. The Monstrous Nightmare's pupils dilated and he shook his head, coming out of his instinct-driven, protective trance, at the resounding command.

Hiccup had just spoken with the authority of the alpha.

"Stand down, Hookfang." Hiccup ordered, unflinching and firmly. Hookfang looked down, ashamed. The dragon assumed a submissive stance, respectfully backing away and uncovering Snotlout.

Hiccup then turned back to the crowd of stunned Vikings. They had gasped in fear, thinking they were about to watch Hiccup get skewered, and had been completely shocked when Hookfang had obeyed. Hiccup was good with dragons, but that had been something else.

"Spitelout, Frida, take Snotlout to Gothi's." Hiccup took control of the situation with ease and even if they wanted to, nobody was about to question his authority. "Leif, gather the fire brigade— we need to stop those flames from spreading to other houses. Anyone with a dragon, start collecting water. Phlegma, I need you to find Astrid, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut, and have them wait for me in the Great Hall. Everyone else is on clean up. Once the fire is out, I want this debris cleared."

There was a flurry of activity as everyone raced to follow Hiccup's orders. The acting chief let out a slow breath of relief as the situation came under control, the dangers nearly gone, and his heart rate normalizing.

"That was impressive." Gobber came to stand by Hiccup's side. "I thought you were about to get sliced into tiny pieces. You scared me."

Hiccup looked down at his mentor, who wasn't usually so open about his concerns for those he cared about. "I'm sorry, Gobber, but I had to stop Hookfang."

"You could've been killed." Gobber reprimanded, but then let up. "How did you do that, anyway?"

"Uh, I don't know. I just knew I could get though to him." Hiccup tried to answer vaguely, but he honestly didn't really know what had come over him either. It was like something had awakened in him. Whatever that something was, was connected to Toothless.

A familiar coo reached Hiccup's ears and he turned to find Toothless bounding toward them. "There you are!"

'I came as soon as I could.' Toothless stopped in front of Hiccup and looked at him with some scrutiny.

"I'll be okay." Hiccup answered before Toothless could inquire about his state of health.

'That's what you always say.'

"And it's always true." Hiccup defended lightly. Toothless huffed and rolled his eyes, Hiccup was so stubborn, but Toothless could sense that Hiccup wasn't in a lot of pain or trying to deceive him about a serious injury, even if he did look a bit ruffed up.

'Where's the offending dragon?' Toothless looked around, eyes settling on Hookfang, who was laying on the ground and looking rather miserable.

"Take it easy on him?" Hiccup requested, Toothless giving him an incredulous look. "He was only trying to protect Snotlout. He's concerned about his rider."

'Why was he raging in the first place?'

"Uh, well, I actually don't know. Why does Hookfang ever go on a rampage?" Hiccup answered the best he could. He was curious to know what had caused it too, and part of him suspected that the twins would have an answer. "Look, I need you to take care of Hookfang. Make sure he doesn't get into anymore trouble. I need to go investigate another explosion."

'Another one?' Toothless made a questioning expression.

"Yeah, another one." Hiccup and Toothless shared a long-suffering look before the Night Fury guided Hookfang away.

"That was an interesting, one-sided conversation." Gobber had an eyebrow raised, having heard only Hiccup's dialogue and finding it rather odd. Hiccup often talked to his dragon, but never had Gobber witnessed a "conversation" quite like that between the pair. It hadn't been the typical conversation where Hiccup assumed what the Night Fury was trying to say and asked for a yes or no in response. It had sounded like Hiccup had been replying to an unheard half of an intelligent conversation.

"Uh, well I've always been good at understanding Toothless." Hiccup evaded.

"Uh huh." Gobber said, not at all sounding like he believed that to be the full explanation, but he let it go. "You best head up to the Great Hall then, the twins made a mess on the other side of the village. Eret and I can handle things here, he's proven to be very helpful and full of initiative."

"Right." Hiccup's thoughts about the other explosion that needed to be taken care of were interrupted when Gobber praised Eret. Glancing over, Hiccup could see that Eret was already instructing others on how to best put out the dying fire, and they were listening to him. Eret had potential, he had leadership qualities. Hiccup could use someone like that right now. "Actually, Gobber, I'd like to take Eret with me."

The Great Hall doors flew open, catching the attention of everyone inside. Hiccup strode in, Eret striding alongside him. Although everyone knew Hiccup as kind and polite, they also knew that he could be just as commanding as Stoick when it came down to things, and Hiccup looked to be in a no-nonsense mood.

"Hiccup, we're over here." Astrid stood up from a table that was away from any others, when Hiccup glanced around searching for them. The twins were sitting side by side at the table, unconvincing smiles on their face. Fishlegs, sat opposite them, even though Hiccup hadn't asked for him to be there.

As Hiccup approached, Astrid couldn't help being concerned. He looked tired, and that was the least of the things that worried her, seeing as he looked like he had just been in a fight with something. However, she couldn't express her concern in that moment and undermine any of the authority that he was giving off.

"Fishlegs, don't you have things to be doing?" Hiccup asked as he and Eret joined them. "We need more repairs." He shot a glare at the twins. "And I need you to make note of the damage."

Fishlegs opened his mouth, as if to defend himself, but Astrid spoke over him. "He's here because I've received a complaint about him."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at Fishlegs, but decided to tackle the other problem first. He took a deep breath, annoyed that even Fishlegs was causing trouble for him now too. "First, I want to know what happened with the ice."

"We had it under control!" Ruffnut burst out.

"No, I had it under control." Tuffnut argued, firmly. "I'm the only one on the project taking things seriously!"

"That's not true." Ruffnut objected offhandedly.

"It is!" Tuff's voice escalated and Hiccup was surprised to see real anger in his expression, and heat in his voice. "I've been doing most of the work while you and Snotlout flirt!"

Fishlegs let out an indignant sound.

"Then when Snotlout isn't around and Fishlegs comes by, you flirt with him!" Tuffnut threw his hands in the air, completely fed up.

Hiccup looked between the twins, seeing that Ruffnut wasn't denying the accusation and that Tuffnut was truly upset. "Ruffnut?"

"Hey, I'm not about to make it easy for either one of them." Ruffnut folded her arms. "If they want me, they're going to have to prove their dedication."

"That's hardly fair to either of them." Hiccup reprimanded, but this odd love triangle wasn't the reason he was upset. It was because all of his friends had let him down. They couldn't focus on their tasks and get their jobs done, instead, causing more damage to Berk. "And what's more, lots of people could have been hurt today! Two explosions, one after the other."

"I had nothing to do with either of them!" Tuffnut tried to defend himself. "I wanted to break the giant pieces of ice into smaller ones— I take demolitions very seriously— but then Fishlegs and Snotlout ruined everything." He glared at Fishlegs.

"I didn't explode anything!" Fishlegs glared back.

Hiccup turned his gaze to Astrid, pleading with her to just tell him what happened so that he could stop listening to this back and forth of arguing and accusing.

"Fishlegs came along so he could show off to Ruffnut with his fancy charts and lists." Astrid started to explain with exasperation, earning another huff from Fishlegs and a cackle from Ruffnut. "Snotlout wanted to out-do him and claimed he could take care of the giant chunks of ice on his own. So he tried to get Hookfang to provide him with more gel, but apparently Hookfang wasn't feeling too giving."

"Meatlug and I get along great, she listens to me." Fishlegs bragged as he looked to Ruffnut. "Snotlout couldn't even get his dragon to help him out."

"That's enough, Fishlegs. I'm surprised at you." Hiccup reprimanded again, his sudden anger gaining everyone's attention. "Snotlout was injured, he's at Gothi's right now."

"He's hurt?" Ruffnut actually sounded concerned. Tuffnut didn't say anything, but he suddenly looked worried too.

"What? Oh gods, I didn't mean for that to happen!" Fishlegs made a sound in distress.

"What do you mean by that?" Hiccup asked suspiciously.

"I may have, sort of been egging Hookfang on." Fishlegs answered timidly. "It really doesn't take much to rile him up."

Hiccup took a deep breath, trying to remain calm and collected. "I think we all should know by now, that it is never a good idea to rile Hookfang."

Astrid, however, had no qualms with showing her temper and she glowered at Fishlegs. "Why would you do such a stupid thing?!"

"I'm sorry!" Fishlegs panicked. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Probably." Hiccup didn't really have an answer to that, not having had the chance to go and check on his friend yet. Snotlout was tough, he'd certainly survived worse— especially with Hookfang as his dragon. If anything he was likely concussed and bruised. Hiccup stamped down on the quell of anxiety that threatened to overwhelm him when he thought of his injured friend. He needed to maintain control. If he freaked out, everyone would, so he directed the conversation back to business. "What caused the other explosion?"

"In order to prevent Snotlout from taking anymore of his gel, Hookfang lit himself on fire and ran off." Fishlegs answered, the mention of Snotlout having been injured sobering him up a little.

"Hookfang's flame lit some of the Monstrous Nightmare gel that had dripped from one of the containers, then from there..." Ruffnut trailed off.

"Our whole supply exploded at once." Tuffnut finished.

"But hey, it managed to break up one of the bigger chunks of ice." Ruffnut attempted to lighten the mood, but her comment fell flat.

"Right." Hiccup sounded stern. He had finally heard the whole story and he wasn't impressed with his friends' behavior. "I think it's very clear that this isn't working out."

"Our plan was working!" Tuffnut protested. He had been trying to take his job seriously, but his annoyance with his sister's flirtatious behavior was what caused him to be negligent. He hadn't thought Hookfang would cause everything to explode.

"Berk's entire supply of Monstrous Nightmare gel is gone." Hiccup reminded everyone. "We use that stuff for defense and it takes time to build up a stock of it. It's not meant to be used so irresponsibly. That stuff is dangerous! You two convinced me that you were up to the task, and now we have to rebuild even more of Berk!"

"Tuffnut, you were the one who made Fishlegs feel insecure in the first place." Astrid pointed out, not about to let him slip under the radar.

"Okay, fine. I may have suggested to Fishlegs that he had less of a chance at winning over my sister than Snotlout." Tuffnut admitted. "Honestly, this whole love triangle is completely disgusting. All this bragging and showing off is insincere. Ruffnut is my sister!" He stood up and his genuine anger returned, surprising everyone. Tuffnut wasn't one to get angry. "If I have to let my sister go, I'm going to make sure that the man who takes her is worthy!"

"Wow." Astrid didn't know what else to say, impressed by his passion despite herself. Everyone knew that the twins were close, but it hadn't occurred to anyone how this situation was affecting Tuffnut.

"You've known me and Snotlout your whole life." Fishlegs sounded hurt. "You really think either one of us wouldn't treat Ruffnut well?"

"You're right. I do know both of you." Tuffnut looked to Fishlegs, but there wasn't much warmth in his eyes. "I know both of you really well. I know your strengths and weaknesses. But I never thought you two would try to sabotage each other. I thought we were all supposed to be a team!"

"You sabotaged me!" Fishlegs stood up, and the two got in each other's faces. "You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you?"

"Wait." Ruffnut interrupted, looking to her brother. "You made Fishlegs think he didn't have a chance, so he'd come racing over to challenge Snotlout? Then Fishlegs riled Hookfang..." she started putting the puzzle together. "You said you had nothing to do with the explosion! But you set everything in motion."

"I didn't plan for an explosion to go off! I just wanted to know how Fishy and Snot would handle themselves." Tuffnut defended himself. "I just wanted what was best for you, but you kept abandoning me to do all the work on my own! So, go ahead and do what you want, why should I care anymore?"

The twins turned their backs to each other. Fishlegs stood at the table awkwardly as Tuffnut sat back down. Meanwhile, Hiccup and Astrid stood together at the head of the table, Eret just behind them.

"Okay, new plan." Hiccup spoke up, taking control of the situation. "I don't want any of you guys working together."

"Some of us still get along with each other." Fishlegs tried, hinting that he should be able to work with Ruffnut.

"You weren't even supposed to be involved in their project." Hiccup stated sternly. "And yet you kept getting involved when you had other tasks to complete."

"Which brings me to the complaint I received." Astrid remembered why she had brought Fishlegs up there for this meeting in the first place. "I've been told that you have been putting in requests for Ruffnut's family above those at the top of the priority list."

"You were using your position to favor Ruffnut?" Hiccup was surprised, but his feelings quickly changed to anger. "Not even Astrid's home was repaired until yesterday."

Hiccup gave Fishlegs a disappointed look. Hiccup was honestly getting very fed up. Leadership was hard. Everything had been going smoothly up until then, when everything was literally blowing up in his face. With another deep breath, Hiccup decided that he couldn't trust his friends to get things done, but he did have one new friend who had done nothing but prove himself capable.

"Fishlegs, give Astrid your notes and charts." Hiccup ordered.

"I can-" Fishlegs began to protest.

"No, Astrid and I will handle it." Hiccup interrupted and Fishlegs gave in. He handed over the papers and sat back down, looking rather annoyed. "Eret?"

Eret straightened as he was addressed for the first time since the little meeting had started. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Have you ever heard of a Catastrophic Quaken?"

"Uh, yeah. Boulder Class dragons, very tough." Eret answered with some confusion, not knowing where this was going.

"I think it is about time that you and your Nadder go on your first mission together." Hiccup gave Eret a smile. "You two have been doing really well in training."

"Thanks." Eret smiled, feeling pride at the praise. "What kind of mission?"

"A mission to bring back a couple of Catastrophic Quakens." Hiccup answered, then explained further at the questioning looks. "I don't want anymore explosions on Berk, so we need a new way to break up that thick ice. Catastrophic Quakens can break through almost anything— even dragon-proof metal. I'm sure ice would be nothing to them." Hiccup glanced at Fishlegs. "You'll have to take Fishlegs with you, he knows those dragons best."

"That's actually a good idea." Fishlegs said. "They could have probably broken up all the ice by now."

"Hey, our idea was good too." Ruffnut complained, narrowing her eyes at Fishlegs.

"Oh, yeah. It was good too..." Fishlegs trailed off.

"This will be less risky." Hiccup said before another argument could break out. He turned back to Eret. "If you leave within the hour, you can be back by tomorrow morning."

"No problem, chief." Eret said confidently. "We'll bring back those dragons for you."

"Thanks, Eret. Go get ready, I'm sure Gobber can provide you with any provisions you might need. I'll meet you at the stables to see you off." Hiccup directed and Eret gave a nod and left. Hiccup then turned his attention back to Fishlegs, who had stood up to await further instruction. "Eret is in charge, Fishlegs. So I expect you to respect that and listen to him."

"What, that guy?" Fishlegs asked in surprise. "Have I not proven to you that I can be a leader? When we were on Dragon's Edge I tried my best to show you what I can do."

"I know, Fishlegs." Hiccup almost sighed in exasperation. "But you haven't exactly kept up with that. Being a leader isn't something you should be, only when it's convenient for you. And honestly? You haven't been making the best choices lately." Fishlegs looked like he had been slapped in the face. "I'm sorry, Fishlegs. When it comes to the dragons, you make the call on how to handle them, but otherwise, this is Eret's mission."

"Alright, fine." Fishlegs reluctantly agreed. "Is that all?"

"Yes, you can go get ready."

Fishlegs left without another word. Hiccup exchanged a glance with Astrid, not sure he had done the right thing, but she gave him an encouraging nod.

"What about us?" Ruffnut asked. Tuffnut still had his back to his sister and said nothing.

"I suppose you have a choice. I can give you some options for what jobs you can do." Hiccup wasn't about to give them a lot of responsibility.

"Great." Ruffnut sighed and rolled her eyes. "We've been demoted. Good job, Tuff."

Tuff still said nothing.

"Lay it on me. What boring jobs do I get to pick from?" Ruff asked, exasperated.

"Kitchen duty, dragon stable duty..." Astrid answered her question, reading though Fishlegs' very thorough notes. It was a shame they couldn't trust him with the job anymore, he had been good at it. "Helping Silent Sven with his farm chores, livestock stable duty, seamstress, gathering medicinal herbs for Gothi, Great Hall clean up, chopping wood, gardening, construction, fishing-"

"Okay, okay. I get it. I'm sure the jobs don't get any better the further you go down the list." Ruffnut folded her arms. "What do you think, Tuff?"

"I think I will take a job on the opposite side of the island to you." Tuffnut finally turned back around.

"Come on! You're going to hold a grudge?" Ruffnut began to argue.

"I think it's best you two work apart for today." Hiccup intervened, again. "Gobber will need some help until Eret can return. Tuffnut, you can assist Gobber for the time being. Ruffnut, take your pick."

"Ugh, fine." Ruffnut gave in. "I pick- Well, can I gather herbs for Gothi, so that I can check on Snotlout?"

Hiccup and Astrid looked to each other, a silent conversation being exchanged with only their expressions.

"Okay." Hiccup agreed. "But we expect you to stay on task."

Feelings of guilt and uncertainty swirled in Hiccup's gut. He hated that he had to reprimand his friends, his trusted team. However, they had all been out of line and he had to take corrective action. Now they were all separated and upset with one another. As someone who felt new to leadership, despite how long he had been leading the Dragon Riders, Hiccup depended on being able to lean on his friends and to delegate. Now he didn't know who he could lean on, other than Astrid and Eret, and the two of them couldn't do everything.

"Hey, you did what you had to." Astrid bumped his shoulder with hers as they walked through Berk.

"That was... one of the hardest things I've had to do, it was unpleasant." Hiccup grimaced. He felt like he had damaged the friendships he had worked so hard to gain.

"They were out of line. And honestly? I think you went easy on them." Astrid smirked as she lifted her hand to her shoulder to finger the wooden handle of her ax— the ax being strapped to her back. "They wouldn't be complaining if they knew what I had planned for them as punishment."

"I don't think I even want to know." Hiccup gave her a small smile, knowing that she was just trying to cheer him up.

"I think it was a good call, giving Eret his first errand as a Dragon Rider."

"You don't think it's too soon?"

"Not at all." Astrid assured. "You've been working with him and that Nadder every evening, for a while now. He's made quick progress. He used to captain a ship. He knows a lot about dragons, albeit from the perspective of a trapper, but still."

"Eret is a hard worker, and he's proven himself to be reliable." Hiccup listed his reasoning. "I think he needs this, to help him feel more like a part of the tribe."

"And to gain the trust of our people." Astrid finished the thought with a smile. "I agree. It's an easy enough errand anyway, and they'll be back by tomorrow. Oh! And great idea, by the way, using the Quakens."

"Too bad I didn't think of it before Berk was destroyed, yet again."

"At least we were ahead of schedule, before." Astrid tried to be positive. "So this setback puts us... well, back on schedule."

The two stopped walking as they arrived at the entrance to the underground stables. Eret was leading his purple Nadder outside and she was hopping around in excitement, knowing that when Eret took her outside it meant lots of attention and flying with her new friend.

"Come now, beautiful." Eret had a hand out. "Calm down so I can strap on your saddle."

"Have you decided on a name for her yet?" Astrid asked as she and Hiccup approached the pair. "Remember to use her blind spot to get close to her."

Eret did as Astrid suggested, standing in the Nadder's blindspot so he could get close to her. He reached up to scratch her jaw, and she leaned in, allowing Eret to toss the saddle over her and strap it on.

"Good, that was good." Astrid praised.

"Thanks." Eret looked behind him at Hiccup and Astrid with a smile, before turning back to his dragon to finish buckling the saddle. "I've given it a lot of thought, and I think I've come up with the perfect name for her."

"Oh really?" Hiccup teased. "You keep saying that, then changing your mind."

Eret finished with the saddle and turned to face his friends. "That's because when I told her the other names, she didn't seem to like them. Such a beautiful dragon deserves a pretty name, isn't that right?"

The Deadly Nadder squawked in agreement, dipping her head in a nodding movement. She spread her wings to show off her colorful, shiny scales, flaunting herself.

"She is pretty." Astrid agreed with a laugh. That Nadder had quite the personality.

"So, what's the name?" Hiccup asked with an amused smile. He always loved it when a rider and a dragon made a good match, and Eret and his Nadder got along wonderfully. Eret showered the dragon with attention and compliments, which she loved, and the Nadder was eager to please and was attentive to her rider.

"I've decided to name her, Amethyst." Eret looked up at the Nadder, waiting for approval. Usually she would show disinterest when he tried to give her a name, but not this time. This time she cocked her head when he said the name and gave a little chirp. "Do you like that? Amethyst?"

The purple Nadder squawked in excitement and fluttered her wings, granting her approval at her new name.

"I think she likes it." Astrid laughed.

"It's a pretty name, I think it suits her." Hiccup laughed too, and it felt nice to do so. He relaxed a little, the tension of his earlier meeting melting away. Although his anxiety returned a moment later, when Fishlegs arrived with Meatlug in tow.

"I'm ready to go." Fishlegs, who was normally so polite, clearly didn't look too thrilled to be spending time with Eret. He eyed the newcomer as he waited.

"Right, well, we'll see you guys tomorrow then." Hiccup said a little awkwardly.

"Good luck!" Astrid tried to ignore the tension and spoke with more enthusiasm.

"Thanks, I'm sure everything will be fine." Eret smiled, ever the confident man. He chose not to acknowledge Fishlegs' attitude. He had dealt with difficult people before and knew that Fishlegs wasn't like that. He had seen him around and interacted with him in the past week. Eret was confident that Fishlegs' would warm up to him and he looked forward to learning more about the Catastrophic Quakens.

Eret mounted Amethyst and waited for Fishlegs to climb aboard Meatlug. "Let's go, Ames." He patted his Nadder's head and she took off, Fishlegs following just behind him.

Hiccup and Astrid watched the two fly off until they were barely dots in the distant sky. It was then that Astrid decided it was time to confront Hiccup about something that had been on her mind ever since he had entered the Great Hall for their little meeting.

"It's time for you to see Gothi, and to get some rest." Astrid hooked her arm through Hiccup's, guiding him along as she started to walk. She saw as he was about to protest, and insisted. "No arguments. You can't lead a village if you're injured or too exhausted to do anything. And, I'm worried about you."

"I have to admit, some rest does sound pretty good right now, but I really have some things I need to do first." Hiccup almost gave but he didn't want to show any weakness in his new, temporary position.

Astrid didn't respond immediately, expecting Hiccup to say something along those lines. She resolved to make sure Hiccup was taken care of, to insure he got the treatment and rest he needed, and it wasn't even noon yet.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I also want to thank KN Hudson for the wonderful suggestion for Eret's dragon's name, Amethyst. Her HTTYD fan fictions are really good, go check them out!

Review Responses:

R37uy: I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Hiccup was in need of a confidence booster. It makes sense that Hiccup would need to build his home sometime soon too. I'm not sure what he did in canon. It kind of makes sense that he would live in his father's home, since Stoick was no longer around, but the home they showed him in, in the third movie, looked very different than the home from the first movie.

Silver Sentinel: Hiccup is pretty good at all that chief stuff, even if he doesn't have a lot of confidence. Haha, maybe I'll write a separate story or a later chapter that takes place on Loki's Day. Hiccup does have a lot of insecurities brought on from his past, and I agree that they aren't about to go away that easily. Everything going on in only building up.

Min's awesomeness: The Ruffnut-Fishlegs-Snotlout love triangle is certainly causing its problems! It is good when Hiccup's friends support him, although I'm afraid that they have managed to fail him in this chapter. At least he still has Astrid and Eret. And Gobber. There will be more Valka and Stoick's POV in later chapters. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it!

FZ-SG-HTTYD: Thank you! I'm so glad you like this story. My story has changed a lot of things from the second movie and onward, but it's set in the proper time period. I'm not always the biggest fan of modern AUs either, but there are some good ones out there. Thanks for taking the time to review!

Animation Adventures: Haha, well the twins were being responsible... Tuffnut was at least taking things seriously and is sincere in how he feels about what is going on with his sister and his friends. Really, the explosion was all of their faults. Snotlout and Fishlegs are still bickering and it's causing all sorts of problems. I agree that Ruff and Tuff can be really smart and useful, they aren't just airheads who can't take things seriously. I want to continue to portray them that way, but everyone has their moments of failure. I hope you liked this newest chapter too!

animeArty: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you like the story and hope you continue to enjoy it!