After their successful test flight and hanging out on that small island until sunset, Hiccup and Brooklyn both eventually returned back to the cove where they ensured their dragons had enough fish before going back to the village. Brooklyn had been feeling rather euphoric from that whole experience, the two of them now sitting in Hiccup's small house near his father's looking over their drawings.

Hiccup laid his head on the table, fiddling with a pencil while Brooklyn swiveled on his chair, knowing inside now that at some point there would have to be a time where they tell someone in Berk about their dragons but he was nervous, wanting to keep Voltwing all to himself.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps came and who should walk in but Stoick from his trip to the Dragon Nest, startling the two boys. "Dad! Y-you're back!" Hiccup yelped.

Brooklyn gave a grin, waving awkwardly. "Uh, hi, heh." He said nervously, Stoick glancing at him. "Seems my son is still standing. Good." The burly man said in his gruff voice that caused Brooklyn to sigh in relief as Hiccup kept his rambling going.

"G-Gobber's not here so..." Hiccup stuttered. Stoick nods, struggling to pull himself through the doorway. "I know. I came looking for you both."

Hiccup and Brooklyn glanced at one another in worry. Did someone rat them out about their dragons secret? Brooklyn shuffled a little in his chair, seeing how much of Goliath was in Stoick even more than ever from his stern gaze. "You've been keeping secrets."

That made the former red gargoyle swallow, feeling a little lightheaded. "Er, y-we have?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Brooklyn hadn't kept a secret like this in a long while, not liking it at all. "Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?" Stoick demanded. Hiccup tried to explain again but Stoick cut him off. "Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it.

Hiccup's eyes shifted until Stoick sat down, staring hard at the friends. "So, let's talk about that dragon."

Brooklyn couldn't help but breathe a small sigh when Stoick didn't say dragons. His Skrill friend was still safe. But Hiccup however was in panic mode. "Oh gods. Dad, I'm so sorry, I was gonna tell you. I just didn't know how to uh..."

But before he could mention Toothless, what startled Brooklyn was of Stoick laughing boisterously all of a sudden, gargoyle and human glancing at one another in shock. "You're not... upset with us?" Brooklyn asked.

"What?! I was hoping for this!" Stoick bellowed, clasping Brooklyn's shoulder that made him flinch but thankfully didn't hurt so much. "Ah, you were?" Hiccup mumbled.

The chief nods. "And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait until you two spill a Nadder's guts for the first time! Or mount your first Gronckle heads on spears? What a feeling!" He heartily smacked them both, Brooklyn yelping at the human's strength and falling to the ground while Hiccup fell into his chair further. "You really had me going there, my son and Brooklyn. All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen! And for you Brooklyn! An outsider who has no idea what he is doing here, taking a step in the ring to ensure Hiccup's protection. Odin, it was rough, I almost gave up on him, but all the while he was holding out on me because of you, oh Thor almighty!" Stoick ended his praise rant, giving a heavy sigh, making Brooklyn's anger inside grow at the idea of Stoick actually nearly giving up on his own son.

"With you both doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about." Stoick finished then, leaning forward with excitement on his features while Hiccup and Brooklyn were feeling very awkward about all this. Soon Stoick cleared his throat before bringing out something for Hiccup. "Oh. I uh, I brought you something. To keep you safe. In the ring." It turned out to be a Viking's helmet, as Stoick handed it to Hiccup.

Hiccup stared in awe, Brooklyn looking surprised that his father actually had it in him to give his son a present. "Wow, thanks."

Stoick gave a smile. "Ah, your mother would have wanted you to have it. It's half of her breastplate."

Brooklyn's stomach felt nauseous from that as Hiccup took his hand off from the helmet, laughing nervously as Stoick suddenly looked to Brooklyn. "And Brooklyn, I had Gobber make this for you." He held it out which appeared to be a knife. Brooklyn gasped in surprise, not having received any kind of present in a long time, taking it. "You deserve it for keeping my son safe." Stoick said, clasping his hand on Brooklyn's shoulder.

"Uh, thanks sir." Brooklyn mumbled, rather lightheaded from getting such a gift from the Viking chief, now more guilty than ever for keeping his Gargoyle life secret, hoping to tell Hiccup soon. "You both held up your end of the deal. And Brooklyn, you have the honor of sitting by my side for the final test for Hiccup and Astrid in the arena." Stoick murmurs, making Brooklyn feel pale all over at the thought before Hiccup does a fake yawn.

"Oh, we should really get to bed..." Hiccup states, Brooklyn nodding quickly after putting the knife into his belt, Stoick backing up. "Ok, sure, yeah, good talk!"

Brooklyn nods. "Yeah, we'll see you back there, thanks for the knife and all!" Stoick while backing out to go outside winds up knocking his head on a ceiling beam. The three talked awkwardly for a moment before Stoick was finally gone, making Brooklyn sigh in relief but then turned to Hiccup after suddenly hearing Stoick accidentally knock over more of the stuff in the blacksmith. "H-Hiccup?"

The boy turned to his friend, raising his brow. "Yes, what is it?" Shaking slightly Brooklyn knew it was time to reveal his secret. "It-it's rather personal. But... I'm not quite from this world, and I'm not a pure human."

Hiccup blinked in shock, not expecting his close friend and almost brother to admit this. "What?" Brooklyn swallowed, sitting down, holding his arms.

"Please hear me out. I-I'm a gargoyle. I know that makes me look like a monster, but I never want to hurt anybody. Ever since arriving here from my home, everybody here seemed to like me alright as a human, especially you. If I told your dad that I was a gargoyle, he would hang my head on his wall." Brooklyn said shakily, rubbing his arms, while Hiccup kept on staring until eventually his face looked sympathetic.

He reached out to take Brooklyn's hand. "Hey, it's alright. I have to admit, I'm a little upset you didn't tell me of your gargoyle blood earlier but we've been friends for a while. I have heard of gargoyles as a kid but never figured they'd existed. And now, here's one right in front of me, as a friend."

Brook looked upward, some tears in his eyes from Hiccup's words, not having expecting Hiccup to accept him immediately. He figured it made sense with how he accepted Toothless. "Thanks. But, what are we going to do now? Your dad thinks I've been the one helping you be safe in the arena even though you've been responsible in your success by taming those dragons and... I gotta sit next to your dad tomorrow in the arena."

For a moment, Hiccup was in deep thought before he had a sort of solution. "With my dad in the arena, just... don't panic. He really isn't too bad when not in war mode. And we can keep your whole gargoyle identity a secret between us for now until a good time."

The young gargoyle turned human soon nods, feeling a little bit better after that but was still worried for Voltwing's wellbeing more than his own, knowing eventually they wouldn't be able to keep this to themselves for long as he and Hiccup eventually both went back to Hiccup's house to get a good night's sleep before the big test tomorrow against the Gronckle as it is one that decides who kills the Nightmare. And Hiccup and Astrid were the final competitors.

I've been struggling with doing roleplaying on Character AI which had been pulling me away from doing really well in my fanfics. It made me decide now I hate Character AI but if I don't have any real people on here encouraging me to keep writing then I really don't know what to do. Also with my Grammy she hates animation so I'm in an animation mood these days since I don't want to end up like my Grammy in old age.