A New World, Complicated

Chapter 7: How to Pick Your Dragon (Reign)

         There were two things that were constantly on my mind, but had been rising to the surface and bugging me more than usual. One that had become more relevant recently was Amethyst, the little purple Hobblegrunt who had brought me to Berk. Her life tragically cut short, I had to sit and wonder how different things would be if she had been alive. Riding her had been a freeing feeling, one that you can come close to while riding on the back of someone else's dragon, but there's a piece of it that's just... missing.

So as Hiccup and I landed on the foggy docs on the back of Toothless, a sense of discomfort washed over me. Chief Stoick and some of his men were pulling an abandoned ship onto the shore with ropes.

"It's that rogue dragon again," Gobber grumbled. "That's the second boat this week he's destroyed."

"Well, we've lost another whole catch. We could've saved it if we'd gotten there sooner."

"I know how you could have gotten there sooner," Hiccup piped up, gesturing to Toothless. Chief Stoick turned away, agitation written all over his face.

"Here we go again," he sighed, rolling his eyes.

"If you'd flown there on a dragon, you could have been there in five minutes instead of two hours." Hiccup followed closely behind his father, trying his best to convince him of the benefit of dragons. "And you might have been able to chase that rogue dragon away for good." His father pulled off a piece of wood that was barely hanging on, staring at it for a moment before casting it aside.

"As the chief of Berk, I do things the Viking way, not the dragon way," he insisted.

"Well, the 'Viking way' is costing us a lot of fish, and almost as many boats."

"The boy's got a point. If you were on a dragon, you could protect this island from a lot of things. Even Alvin." I leaned against Toothless and stared at the blanketed sky. Normally, it was a vibrant, intense blue, but around this time of year, fog and rain overtook the freedom above.

"Right! You-You could use a dragon to-"

"You're right, Gobber. Alvin knows we have dragons. He'll be back."

"You saw what those dragons did. They had Alvin on the run. Imagine if you were the one commanding them."

"I'm listening."

"Clearly not to me..." Hiccup muttered, not trying to be subtle.

"I can see it now. A proud chief ruling his domain aboard the fearsome, fire-breathing reptile." Gobber shuddered. "Gives me goosebumps."

"That's what I've been trying to-"

"Gobber's right." He turned to face Hiccup. "I need to learn how to fly. When do we start the lessons?" Hiccup crossed his arms in defiance.

"I don't know. Shouldn't we ask Gobber?" he sassed.

"I don't really have a preference," the Viking shrugged, "but sooner is always better, don't you think?"

Hiccup's shoulders slumped and he turned around, trudging his way back to me and slumping down beside. Gently, his head leaned against my shoulder, and I patted his hand.

"He's listening to you, Hiccup. It just might not feel like it at the moment." His father came over to us, and Hiccup and I quickly jumped apart, blushing a deep red. "We, uh, we should get going, right? Can't waste time!" I quickly hopped up, waiting for Hiccup to lead us where we needed to go. We walked side-by-side as I followed his steps. "So one of those things I've been thinking about--"