Dragons: The New Chief

Chapter 2: Give Him Time *Edited*

It didn't take long for the new chief to fall back into affliction after the quick moment of happiness he shared with his girlfriend. As soon as the three adults and dragon exited the house, climbed down the hill in which the Haddock house resided, and looked over all of Berk, the sorrow hit him once again as memories flooded his mind. They slowly paced away from the house, which placed strategically next to the Great Hall on that hill for the specific purpose of allowing the chief to oversee all that went on in the village, which Hiccup's father had told him repeatedly. Hiccup remembered his father standing out on their front porch every morning as the sun was rising and every night as the sun was setting. His father was watching his peaceful village thrive. Sometimes Stoick had Hiccup stand with him. He would place his large hand on his son's measly shoulder and gaze at the land of rolling hills, working vikings, bustling houses and, eventually, roaming dragons.

"This will all be yours one day, Hiccup." He would say, gesturing out to the island before them with his free hand. "From the forests," He would turn them both to gander at the forest beyond their house. "and the the mountain beyond that to the houses below us and the people that inhabit them. These people will be yours to watch over; they will be your responsibility...as chief."

Hiccup and his father would have times like this, where they would sit and watch the village quietly when Stoick wasn't too busy, until about the age of 10, when the dragon raids became more frequent and the village heir began to be the village fishbone or village disgrace. The young man never knew the truth behind the vikings cold shoulder towards him. He knew for sure it was because he was a disgrace, but why he was the disgrace never came to be apparent. Was it just because of his small physique? Or was he really that different from a viking?

Hiccup did have a few things in mind as to why, but they were never finalized. His artistic ability, his brains instead of brawn, his ability to show he cared rather than to hide it like most vikings would, and, most importantly, his inability to fight, whether it be vikings or dragons. But that didn't matter to the man anymore, he forgave...everyone.

It took some time for Hiccup to grow accustomed to his new title as the 'Pride of Berk' and to forgive, but it came well enough. First was his father, of course, the man was Hiccup's only true family. Sure he had his uncle, his aunt and his cousin, Snotlout, but they were never close or thought of as family, at least not then. Next, it was Astrid, the girl in which he loved and cared for dearly, the girl who was his best friend, and the girl who never picked on the scrawny boy as much as his own cousin.

Hiccup had always fancied the girl, from a young age, and she him, although she never showed it until recent years, after the battle with the Red Death. Finally came the gang and the rest of the village, who all adored the young man after the battle. It was hard for Hiccup to come to terms with his new found pride because of the fact it was because of his great deed, it was almost all that the people loved him for. It occurred to him, a lot, that the battle may be what strengthened his bond with his father and Astrid, but a few facts stood out that showed him that accusation was wrong.

His father had told him that he was proud, before he killed the Red Death, before he completed his task. Stoick wanted his son to stay out of the fight for the fear of loosing Hiccup, which he could not bear. Same went for Astrid, she did grow angry with Hiccup the days following up to the battle, but that was only because she wanted to be the one to kill that dragon, something she had always trained for. Her anger was not towards Hiccup himself, but at the thing he took from her. Besides that, Astrid began to show her true feelings the day that she met Toothless. When she thought the dragon was attacking, she told Hiccup to run because she cared for the boy and didn't wish to see him mauled by the dragon. It was that and the occasional overhearing of Astrid commenting to the gang or Gobber that something that Hiccup had done was something that she had always admired about him...even before the battle with the Red Death. That, along with the strong friendship the two had before the age of ten, pushed Hiccup's fear of his deed being an incentive for Astrid to love and care for the man as well, because her feelings for him were always there and were always true.