Little Stories (How To Train Your Dragon)

Protect Him

Stoick squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing a hand against his temple. He entertained the idea of blocking out Mildew and his daily rant. Sometimes he wondered how the old man had lived so long. He wished the old man would die, as cruel as it may be.

He sighed, cutting Mildew off mid-sentence. He stood up, walking off. If he stayed any longer, his head would explode.

"Stoick? Where yer heading? I ain't done talkin' to yer," the bitter man spat. Stoick ignored him, angering the jealous man. "Ever since yer son died yer haven't been the same. He was a traitor. A traitor! He loved the same beasts who killed yer wife, his mother! He got what he deserved."

Stoick stopped and turned. His hands clenched into tight fists. He had forbidden anyone from mentioning his late wife and son. Yet this cranky old man dared. . .

Mildew stopped himself from continuing. His cold eyes sparkled with both amusement and fear. He loved pressing buttons, seeing how far he could go, but this was the chief. He had to be careful around the chief.

Stoick marched up to him, not hesitating to wrap his meaty hands around the frail throat. A choked sound escaped Mildew as he dropped his staff, hands clawing at the other.

"Don't. Ever. Call. Hiccup. A traitor," the chief growled, lifting Mildew off the ground. "He died protecting this village. The dragons are our allies now. Am I clear?"

Mildew rasped a, "Yes," gasping for air when Stoick dropped him. Without another word, he marched off.

No one dared to stop him. Everyone knew to let him be when he was angry. He was going to be Stoick the Vindictive before he became Stoick the Vast.

Tears pricked at his eyes, calling out for Skullcrusher. His friend was a fairly new friend, one that protected him when Toothless and him had gone for a flight and crashed. He never could stomach the dragon's favorite way of flying: fast and dangerous.

But after five years, Toothless was giving up. He no longer tied to be happy. It was like Hiccup had died all over again.

When Hiccup first died, Toothless went into a prolonged stage of mourning. He refuses to fly, barely ate, and never left Hiccup's room. He spent most of his days curled up beside the bed, digging his head in the blanket and pillow he knocked down. Toothless was the only one who went into the dusty room. Stoick wasn't sure if the boy's scent lingered or if time had replaced it. He was too scared to find out.

After a while, Toothless let Stoick and Astrid take him for short flights. The dragon had too much energy to stay on the ground for long. Sometimes, Stoick could tell, Toothless would pretend his rider was Hiccup. Something about the way the dragon held himself was. . . happier. But reality always returned, and the dragon soon landed.

For the past few weeks, Toothless was going back into locking himself up. He refused to leave the house. Not even his friend Stormfly could coax him out to play.

Skullcrusher landed in front of Stoick heavily, leaving craters in his wake. Stoick climbed on, letting Skullcrusher chose the direction of their flight. He just needed to get away for a few hours.

He nudged Skullcrusher's side, and the dragon went faster. The wind nipped at his cheeks and nose, probably giving them a rosy color, but he pressed on.

He's not sure how long Skullcrusher flew. They just kept flying.

A large but unusual spiked glacier caught his attention. Skullcrusher was headed right for it, too. Skullcrusher might have been there before, Stoick realized. Maybe they're near his old home or something.

Stoick let Skullcrusher fly where he wanted, hoping he would land soon. Hours of flying made his back, legs, and butt sore. He'd need to get up soon. He could already feel the dull ache.

Suddenly, Skullcrusher went into a dive. Stoick instinctively clench onto the handles of the saddle. Skullcrusher wasn't one for sudden stunts, unlike Toothless, and it caught him off guard.

"Whoa, Skullcrusher."

Skullcrusher seemed intent on their path, and Stoick was in no mood to discourage him.

Skullcrusher flew them into the giant, spiked glacier. And inside was unlike anything Stoick had ever seen. The ground was caked with a vibrant green grass, the sunlight passing through the ceilings of ice. It was rather warm inside, despite the exterior. Not too warm, but warmer.

Hiccup would've loved this place. There were all kinds of dragons, some he'd never seen or heard of before. And Berk's Book of Dragons had expanded quite a bit since peace. Even without Hiccup's adventurous ambition and his leadership capabilities, the other teens still went out. Mostly it was ordered, for they caused too much destruction with dragons. Still, their many trips away from Berk had benefited his people quite a bit.

Some dragons opened sleepy eyes to spy at him, but most returned to playing or sleeping afterwards. It was like they had seen peaceful humans before. Or had never seen humans before. Either way, only the younglings cared enough to greet him.

Obviously a few months old, they stood waist high to him, and had enough strength to make him stagger. He a hearty bellow, he lowered himself to pet them. He was a friend to dragons after all.

Once the babies started wrestling around again, Stoick walked around. Though it had been a couple hours since he left Berk, he was tired. He was in no particular hurry to return. Besides, Berk was in good hands with Gobber, Spitelout, and the Hofferson girl.

As he went down one of the stone halls (hidden from the outside by the ice) he heard a soft laughter.

It was so similar to his beloved's voice, he thought he was hearing ghosts.

Then it sounded again.

"Oh, Cloudjumper." It sounded slightly off, but could it be? No. His mind was playing tricks on him.

Stoick picked up his pace, pulling out his sword in case he came across an enemy.

He turned the final corner, dropping his sword at the sight of his not- so- late wife.

Startled by the sound, she spun around, also stunned.

"Stoick? Could it be? After twenty years? How is this possible?" she asked.

Shocked into silence, Stoick walked forward. The dragon by his wife growled, but the woman quickly calmed him down. When Stoick crept even closer, she started backing up.

"I know what you're going to say," she rambled, obvious fear and disbelief in her voice. She rambled about him, their son, and the upbringing of their son, but Stoick didn't hear her. "Don't be so stoic, Stoick. Say something!"

They continued their treks until Valka's back hit the wall and Stoick cupped her soft cheek.

"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you," he murmured. He lead her into a gentle kiss, pulling back sooner than he would have liked. "You would've gotten along very well with Hiccup."

"Hiccup?" she asked, her eyes lighting up and darting behind him. "Is he here?"

"No."

"No?"

Stoick teared up. "He's- He's gone. He- He died five years ago, as a hero. He died showing the village that dragons could be our allies. He died proving what you believed in, Val."

Valka lowered her head, tears slipping down her cheeks at the news. At the sorrow of never meeting or knowing her son. Never seeing him on that wonderful Night Fury of his.

"I'm sorry. It was all my fault. I should have protected him."