Riders Dragons of the Archipelagos

VII

 Hiccup stared out over the ocean, remembering the things his father had told him as a boy. That it was his job to keep the people of Berk safe, so far he'd succeeded in that. His father had always told him a chief protects his own, and that Berk isn't the island they stood on, but the people who stood on the island.

Now this new person he'd met, James Stevenson, was telling him to put it under the protection of people other than himself. Hiccup was reluctant to do so, but the strain of not knowing what else was out there would kill him (theoretically, of course). But leaving the village in the hands of Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut, might be worse. He thought hard on who could look over the village.

Until his dragon bumped him from behind. He smiled at the Night Fury, "What are you doing, bud?" he asked. The dragon answered him with a grunt, then opened his new tail, It was mechanical, so that the dragon could fly wherever he wanted. He put it on the dragon whenever they weren't flying together. So Hiccup could take care of the village, and his dragon could spend time with his mate.

"Not so fast, Toothless!" Hiccup shouted as the Night Fury tried to take off. "I need a second opinion on this."

The dragon stopped and looked back at Hiccup, and reluctantly crawled over to him.

"I need help figuring out who can run this place while we're gone," Hiccup told Toothless. "Someone besides Snotlout, Ruff, or Tuff."

Toothless suddenly showed Hiccup his pearly white teeth and he instantly got what the dragon was trying to tell him. "Gobber!"

Hiccup ran into the village, seeking out the old man's hut. As soon as he found the blacksmith he cleared his voice. Gobber looked at Hiccup curiously,

"Well you're sure in a hurry," he told Hiccup, then turned back to his work. "So what is it you want Hiccup."

"At certain times you were the main person my father would look to to look after this village, weren't you?" Hiccup asked.

"Aye, I was," the man turned back to Hiccup, stroking his beard with his wooden hand. "Why do you ask, boy."

"Because I need you to," Hiccup said. "I'm leaving for a while, maybe a week-"

"You're not actually going to visit this newcomer's homeland, are you?" Gobber interrupted. "It's not safe, especially one who claims to be the son of Lightning."

"Gobber, I'm sure it won't be that bad," Hiccup tried to reassure him, "besides we've dealt with much worse than him, Bewilderbeasts, Red Deaths, Skrills-"

"Screaming Deaths," Gobber shuddered in his seat, "even the name still gives me the chills."

"And even if he isn't who he says he is, I've got Toothless," Hiccup said.

"And he's got his own dragon, Starfire, I believe is what he called her," Gobber stated, "who can also spit lightning."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "James saved Astrid, that's the only reason why I believe he can be trusted."

"One deed-"

"One that saved my wife's life, Gobber," Hiccup said.

"Would your father have the same view you do now?" Gobber asked. That made Hiccup feel as if a ballista bolt had struck him in the chest. His father had died three years ago, he'd been killed saving Hiccup from his own dragon. He quickly recovered though and glared at Gobber,

"No," Hiccup said, "but I am the chieftain now, and it is my duty to put my village before myself. If something does happen, and I don't come back, that will tell you it was not safe. I am responsible for anything that happens to my people, but some things even Odin cannot stop. Maybe having the Rider's of the Nine Islands as allies would strengthen Berk, maybe they could help us."

"Maybe you're right," Gobber whispered.

"Will you watch over the village while I'm gone?" Hiccup asked for the last time.

"Yes, I guess I could," Gobber finally gave in.

"Okay, I'll be back in a week or so," Hiccup said. "Don't let Snotlout or the twins get into the explosives."

"You know I wont."

"Thankyou Gobber," Hiccup said, and ran outside. He rushed to his house on its podium and climbed the ladder to get to the front door. Toothless followed him up. Hiccup grabbed the last handlebar and pulled himself up. Although he was one of the lightest vikings on Berk, he was still one of the strongest.

Hiccup opened the door and headed to his room. He grabbed his flight suit out of the closet and was about to leave when a sudden thought crossed his mind. He turned back around and grabbed his Night Fury scale armor that was made from Toothless's shed scales. He quickly slipped it on, and tucked the helmet at his side.

Then he grabbed his dragon's saddle and prosthetic tail. He ran back outside, and sure enough, his dragon was there waiting for him. Hiccup removed his mechanical tail, and put on the prosthetic one that was red with a skull in the middle. It would be connected to a wire that ran up to the saddle. Hiccup used his foot to control the tail so Toothless could fly.

"Looks like we're going on another adventure," Hiccup said, "Huh bud."
Finally Hiccup fashioned the saddle that ran about the end of his dragon's wings. Once he was done he hopped up into the saddle, and squirmed around.

"How's that feel?" he asked the dragon. Toothless answered with a grunt, that surely meant yes. "Then let's go."

Toothless jumped into the sky, and sailed over the whole of Berk. Hiccup steered him in the direction James had told him to go...East.