The 'Dragon Defender'

Contemplation

"Well that was dismal," I hum once the others have finally left us all be. "I'll be glad to leave Berk behind. The more I'm here, the more... unsettling it becomes."

"How do you mean?" Adriana frowns, looking to me. "I don't know, just... I used to come here for trade or to help out with dragons," I note. "Now I come here for emergencies or to reign in conspiracy theories or whatever. And I always end up dealing with some kind of lunacy or other from a certain chief."

"He seems all smiles, doesn't he?" Asher remarks. "Almost hard to imagine him the way you've described."

"But you believe us, right?"

"Without question."

"I wonder what we can do to stop Hiccup," Adriana frowns, looking to the ground as we walk. "I mean... he got so close the other night..."

"Too close," I agree. "We can't risk it again, it's far too dangerous. I'm done babysitting him."

"Can we not just...?" Asher runs his finger along his throat. "Y'know?"

I blink, a little surprised that he of all people would suggest murder. "I... seriously?"

"What? You're not the only one who can do that," Asher teases, his usual playful grin finally breaking through for the first time since we walked through the village. "Did you think we hadn't protected the island from hunters before?"

"Addie?"

"Not me," Adriana shakes her head. "I've fought, but I don't really want to kill unless I have to. Asher's making out he's done it more than he has; it's only been once or twice."

"No, there was that other one who almost got his hands on Mel."

"Oh, right. I try to forget about them."

"Was she okay?!"

"She was fine, Addie covered her so she didn't see a thing," Asher assures, wrapping his arm around Adriana's waist. "She was half asleep at the time. I don't think she ever understood what was happening. Ended up convincing her it was all a dream."

"That's horrible..."

"I'm not proud of what I've done," Asher admits, frowning. "I'm not like you. But we both know that sometimes it's necessary."

"You think I'm proud of it?" I look up at him. "You don't think I enjoy killing, do you?"

"I didn't mean it like that-"

"I know. I'm not saying you did. But now I want to know. Do you guys think I enjoy killing?"

The couple is silent for a minute. "I mean... I kind of assumed...?" Adriana admits eventually, her tone uncertain. "I never really thought about it properly..."

"I never thought you just did it for fun or whatever," Asher states. "I just... what with all the myths and the extravagance, I figured you liked the idea of being all dramatic about it."

"... I never liked killing."

My voice is softer than I meant it. Quieter. Weaker. I cough lightly, shaking my head. "I never wanted to kill," I continue, keeping my voice level now.

"I only kill guilty parties. Dragon hunters. Bounty hunters after my head. Hiccup is only guilty of disrespecting boundaries and being a nuisance. I can't kill him just because he gets on my nerves and doesn't obey my every order. The moment I start killing innocent people is the moment I can no longer justify my actions... I already have enough doubts about my morality as it is."

We fall into silence, the only noise to break if being the crunch of fallen leaves beneath our feet as we enter the forest. I don't know what drove us out here, really, but it'll be nice to get out of the village for a while. Once we're relatively far into the forest, Asher turns to us both, stopping us in our tracks. "We're dragons, Indi. We have human forms, but we're dragons. And what happens if you threaten a dragon's nest?"

"The dragons will attack."

"And do they care whether you actually mean harm or not?"

"Rarely."

"So you shouldn't worry about killing the people that threaten you or your pack. And right now, Hiccup poses a threat to both our packs, even if it's unintentionally. He knows the risks, he's just ignoring them for his own benefit. He's not being careful. He's not being considerate of what we've been through. He repeatedly crosses your boundaries to the point where you've admitted to bending over backwards just to excuse his actions. It's clear that you have some kind of friendship or whatever with him and a clear friendship with his mother, and I understand that this complicates things, but don't let it cloud your judgement. I'll follow whatever you decide; you know way more about dealing with humans than either of us. But make sure your decision is the right one."

I nod slowly. "You don't have to worry about me. I've already been questioning this. I don't want to go against him. But if it becomes inevitable, I won't hesitate."

"I'm not saying you should kill him!" Asher put his hands up in defence. "I mean, if you want to, but I was talking about, like, wiping his memories or something! Still can't believe you can do that, by the way."

I chuckle a little at this. "Oh, that sounds a lot more like you. I owe a lot to Valka and she was, ah, sensitive the last time I hypnotised Hiccup. Not that I blame her for wanting the best for her son."

"... Too soon to suggest wiping her memory too?"

"Ash!" Adriana scolds, lightly backhanding his shoulder.

"I'd prefer not to," I shake my head. "I just... why can't Hiccup just mind his own business and we could be on our way?"

"We'll be on our way soon enough," Adriana assures. "Since Asher's okay now, all we need to do is figure out a way to get back without Hiccup following us or trying to figure Morphwings out again."

"Maybe there's some way to distract him for now? So we buy ourselves the time to get home and think about it all?" Asher suggests. "Unless we'd be able to just leave at night."

"That didn't work out so well last time," Adriana frowned. "Plasma showed up. Hiccup tried to follow him. If Indigo hadn't been there to scream some sense into him, he might have found the island."

Asher greys at the mere thought. "How close did he get?"

"Too close."

"We might have a bigger problem on our hands than I thought. We need a way to stop Hiccup."

"There's nothing that stops him."

"Then, one way or another, we need to get rid of him."