They touch down on their dragons at the edge of the village, and all bar The Dragon Master dismount, and at Astrid's instruction encourage their dragons to fly back to the Cave they found Hookfang and Barf and Belch inside.
"Meet you on the steps beside the Chief", The Dragon Master tells them before taking off again.
Astrid leads the other teenagers on foot through the quiet, cobbled streets until they found the throng of people gathered around near the Chief's hut and the stairs up to the Great Hall.
As they make their way around the edge of the crowd, Astrid waves up a brief signal to The Dragon Master. From up in their silent soaring, the feared form of the night fury comes swooping down and lands on the steps just behind the large form of Stoick the Vast.
She noticed less of the villagers shuddered as their ancestral adversary landed right in front of them than they had not long before. The teenagers all stand just in front of the side of the crowd, at the foot of the steps that Stoick is on.
"Vikings!" Stoick starts,
"You're all likely aware by this point of the threat posed to our fair island from the Jormung. The great beastie swimming in our southern waters. But by Thor have we got an answer. Our, very, own, Dragon Riders!"
The Dragon Riders climb the bottom few steps to put themselves just above the rest of the village as they are hit with a wall of cheering.
From the back of the crowd the Jorgenson's can be heard chanting "Snotlout Snotlout Oi Oi Oi!"
"Our Dragon Riders, the selfsame Vikings we watched them grow to become. Now with the might of the dragons to repel the threats we face. And as I'm sure you all know, our stubborn lasses and lads will need a strong leader."
He turns around to face the Dragon Master, who has dismounted and is standing right beside the Chief.
A small glistening in his eyes and a stutter in his speech as he announces, "And they will be lead by..."
The Dragon Master's helmet is removed and he steps forwards towards the edge of the stairs, baring his face to the village as a whole.
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III! My SON!"
A hundred and some jaws fall to the floor and gasp. The sunlight making the heir to the Chiefdom of Berk look regal in his black leather armour. His dark princely look is only accentuated by his ruffled auburn hair and the piercing green of his eyes raking over the crowd.
"My son." Stoick places his hands upon Hiccup's shoulders.
"My Son is home! Back from Valhalla!"
The Berkians erupt into cheers and talk, with a number of the closest Vikings reaching up to touch Hiccup to check if he was but a vision, a vapour in the form of their heir.
The happiness and surprise on Spitelout's face was soon eclipsed as he realised that Hiccup's reappearance moved his family once more further from the line of succession. He caught himself before he could outwardly scowl, leaving a tight lipped smile.
Hiccup noticed Ingrid barely reacting to his reveal and was more intrigued when she winked at Astrid. Something he'll need to ask about later.
Astrid too was watching her mother when Hiccup revealed himself, and after they caught each others eyes, Ingrid winked while nodding towards where Hiccup was standing. Putting aside her light embarrassment she turned from Ingrid towards Snotlout, Fishlegs and the Twin's. Fish had a massive grin on his face, while Snotlout just continued to stare open mouthed.
"I - I can't believe.." Tuffnut starts.
"HICCUP? Scrawny, Socially awkward, 'Talkin' Fishbone' Hiccup is the Dragon Master?" Ruffnut finishes for him.
"But where did those muscles come from?" Tuff wonders, poking his own right bicep.
"He's more confident?" Ruff follows.
"And he's handsome now?" They query as one voice.
Stoick lets the whole village calm down over a few minutes, still with one large hand on his son's left pauldron. Once the Village's general shock and awe had melded into more of a happy disbelief, Stoick speaks out over them.
"We still need a few brave volunteers to join our Dragon Riders on the journey there. We need a skeleton crew of one oarship - so that the dragons can land on and take off from if necessary."
That had been Astrid's idea, using a boat as a mobile landing area in case they encountered the Jormung at sea with no where to rest the dragons before being forced to engage.
Many more Vikings than would be necessary volunteer, so Stoick begins to narrow down the selection.
"Sköld, Hedgelout, Ivar, Gró, Iðunn and Gobber. I think that's as few as we can manage on the boat."
Gobber was in fact passed out during the Chief's selection, but he had previously decided he wanted to bear witness to the fall of the Jormung. Seeing the young Viking again had reminded Gobber of the years he had apprenticed and cared for Hiccup like a son since Valka had been taken. And a combination of watching him arrive back from the dead and the copious amounts of alcohol he had already consumed (Which alone wouldn't have phased him), had him overwhelmed.
After the volunteers were picked out, a few Vikings started to return to their homes, but the majority were stuck staring at the Chief and his son as they explained their plans and reassured families.
Astrid, still standing to the side, pays little attention to what the Haddock's were saying having drafted the plan alongside them already. Her attention is instead on Hiccup himself.
Standing atop the stairway beside his father he looked happy. He looked at home leading from his father's side, taking a much more involved role than he ever used to years before.
Astrid smiled at his confidence as he stood before his village. Not as the Dragon Master, but as a returning heir to save them from their current plight.
But standing to the right and slightly behind Hiccup gave Astrid a view of all the leatherwork he had done in making his armour, and how form fitting each piece was - to his lower half and legs especially. She notices what looks like a small piece of bone poking out of a pouch on the small of his back, at which point Hiccup turns from the smaller gathering of villagers.
"So, 'The Dragon Riders', it has a nice ring to it." He laughs, "Well I guess we'll see how much we've earned that title tomorrow."
Tuff walks up to him and pokes his cheek, making Hiccup swat his hand away in jest.
"Hey, what's that for?" He laughs as Tuffnut squints at him in disbelief.
"Ok, so not an apparition. Doesn't rule out a shapeshifter still."
"Oh Tuff" Fishlegs chuckles, "Do you not believe it's actually Hiccup?"
"Even if it walks like a chicken, and talks like a chicken, it could still be a duck... If it learnt to speak chicken. And had a very good disguise."
"I think you got it a bit mixed-" Ruffnut tries to correct her brother, much to his chagrin and he shushes her.
"Whatever. I'll have some tests for you tomorrow - shapeshifter." He says, turning away and walking back to his house.
Hiccup shrugs, and the rest of the dragon riders all start to slowly walk towards their houses but notice Snotlout not following.
He opens his mouth to say something, but stops, looking confused and in some emotional turmoil. After a few more seconds he steps over to Hiccup and whispers to his ear, "I never thought I'd look up to you Hiccup." He steps away, saying "But if you tell anyone I said that I'll stick mud in your bedsheets".
Hiccup smirks and they continue walking off to their houses, saying brief goodbyes as they reach each house. Once they reach just outside his and The Hofferson's, Astrid finally asks "What's the bone sticking out of your pouch by the way?"
"Uh, uhm, what?" Hiccup blushes slightly, patting his torso then leg pockets before finally finding the sheep bone in his back pouch.
"Ah! Oh, uh, I was going to give you this tomorrow. I guess there's no harm in giving to you now."
Astrid cocks her head to the side at the mention of it being a gift for her, but takes the offered Sheep shoulder blade and admires the engraving on it.
"So uh, yeah, I thought maybe you'd like your families insignia. And uh, well Stormfly gave me that bone and I thought that maybe it was..."
"Wait, is it the bone from Stormfly's Cave when I met her? Aw, thanks Hiccup."
"It should fit in Stormfly's saddle nicely, I'll make the small adjustments tomorrow before we head off, and I hope you like it and it's even the right bone and.."
Astrid waves the bone in front of his face, laughing slightly, "Stop worrying over it, it's amazing."
"Yeah, sorry" Hiccup says, hanging his head slightly.
Astrid raises an eyebrow at him and then grabs his shoulders to make him look her in the eye.
"Thank you Hic" she says smiling, "It means a lot. And I'm glad I don't have to pretend like I don't know its you under that helmet"
As they laugh, Astrid lets go of his shoulders and pats down a patch of his hair that was especially unruly, returning it to its usual scruffiness.
Hiccup blushes again, stepping back and rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Well, uh, see you tomorrow" He awkwardly turns around.
As Astrid makes it to her door, she notices him lingering in his doorway to wave goodbye and she smiles, giving him a brief wave and stepping inside.