Gone (HTTYD Fanfic) REWRITE [Book 5]

~12~

Hiccup had been in many different situations before. They all started out fine but then...

BOOM!

It blows up in his face at the end. And he has heard from countless people that when he is under pressure, he always rambles and says something that he didn't want them to know. He is just praying to Thor that it won't be the same as all the others times he had to explain himself.

Honestly, with all the times he has been in trouble, he is starting to wonder how he hasn't gotten any better about keeping some things private.

"This is awkward." Ruffnut says, breaking the very tense silence. Astrid glares at her, silently telling her to be quiet.

"Hiccup, how about you first tell me why you ran off in the first place..." starts Stoick. Even saying only that one sentence irritates Hiccup to no end.

'Really? Have you seriously paid zero attention during my childhood?' Hiccup thinks to himself.

"Um... Do you... uh... remember that... Er... dragon raid... 5 years ago?" Hiccup asks. His hands shake as he waits for his father's reply.

"Hiccup, you need to be more specific. We have one too many dragon raids for me to remember which one you are talking about here." Stoick says and rubs his temples.

Hiccup gives him a look. "The one where... I uh... claimed to have shot down... Um... a Night Fury."

Suddenly a strange look appears in Stoick's eyes. "Where are you going with this?"

"I... Er... really did shoot... him down..."

"Him?" Stock says, temper raising.

Hiccup whistles and a dragon walks out from the trees. Stoick's eyes set on the dragon, his hand going to his hammer before remembering that it isn't where it should be.

"Um... uh... Dad, meet Toothless. Toothless, Dad." Hiccup introduces them like you would a person.

"You... You... You sided with the beasts!" Stock bellows. This is usually when Hiccup would look to the ground, ashamed. But now, he stares at his father, not flinching once. 

"So what if... I did? What are... you going to... um... do about it? I... Uh... exiled myself 5 years ago." Hiccup says strongly.

"You are a traitor to your tribe and have brought shame to your family name!" Stock yells at Hiccup. Birds fly from their nests in a hurry, disturbed by the loud noise.

"Last time I... checked, Toothless was... Um... my only family. And the tribe... never cared for me." Hiccup states.

"Us Vikings have been fighting for years on end with these beasts! You side with the beasts that have killed hundreds of us!" Stock yells, his powerful voice carrying far.

"And we have killed... thousands of them! They.... defend themselves... that's all." Hiccup says with a determined look in his eyes. He knows how dragons really are. He knows that they don't attack unless they are being threatened. When not provoked, they are caring creatures who look out for their young. They don't mean to cause such trouble, unless they are under the influence to do so.

"They raid because... they don't have... another... choice. They raid... to live. There is something... on that island. It would... eat the dragons... whole." Hiccup doesn't seem to realize that he rambled, only until he looks at Stock does he realize his mistake.

The others looked shocked. They had heard little about dragons but they never knew that they would leave all the Vikings alone if it meant that they would be able to live, and not fear for their own lives.

"You've seen the nest." Stoick says. It wasn't a question. More like him just stating it to rub it in Hiccup's face that when he rambles, the outcome is hardly ever good.

"Um... Chief... I don't think that finding the nest would be a good idea. If whatever is on their island terrifies the dragons so much that they have to fight for their lives -as do we- whatever is on that island, will only cause more chaos. Don't you think that you can just stop for a moment and listen for other ideas on how to solve this problem?" Astrid suggests. Though it doesn't look as if Stoick was listening to her, as he is now walking to the village.

"Dad, no! Listen to me! Please! It's... It's..."

Stoick stops walking but he doesn't turn around to face his son. "Hiccup, just stop. You have thrown your lot in with them."

Hiccup stops walking towards Stoick, his strong facade has fallen to the ground and shattered. He looks like that lost little boy he had been before he had shot down the dragon during the raid. His confidence was stomped into the ground, buried 6 feet under.

"How could Thor be so cruel to have me end up with a son like you..." Stoick states and walks away, head held high.

Kaboom.