Into The Night 121
Hiccup stood up and stretched. “I’ve still got a lot of growing to do, I think.” “Well you never really stop growing, so probably.” Stoick got up as well. “But as you get older it’ll slow down a bit. You’ll know more, so learning comes on as you need it. Though as a chief, you gotta make sure you keep up. Don’t want to be the slow one to adapt. You’ll just drag everyone down with you.”“Good to know.” Hiccup started to make his way off the shelf they were on. “So what are we even doing?” Stoick asked while he followed his son. “You’ll see.” Hiccup chimed. “Oh, good, a surprise in a cave full of dragons. Just what I want.” Stoick said. “If you keep complaining maybe I won’t do this with you.”“I’m not a child Hiccup, that won’t work.” Stoick huffed as he hopped down another shelf. “Whoo, this place was not built for people like me. Actually hold up, let me catch my breath.” Stoick took a few deep breaths while Hiccup stopped near him. “Yeah I understand that. This place is not very kind to those without wings. Or some other way to get around.” Hiccup patted his dad on the back. “And just think this is just getting down. We have to still get what we came for and go back up.” Hiccup smiled. Stoick dead panned, and looked at his son in a way that said you’re lucky I can’t ream your neck. Hiccup’s smile widened. Then he walked to the edge of the shelf they were standing on and whistled loudly. A group of dragons quickly descended on them asking what they could do. “Alright I need two of you to go grab a chest that’s hidden in the food storage. Bring it up to the roof and leave it there for me.” The dragons flew off and were quickly lost among the others. Hiccup turned back to his dad. “I was wondering when you’d get fed up with jumping down these shelves. Guess I have my answer.” “What did you even say to them?”“I just asked them to grab what we were going to get, and bring it up to the roof.” “I’m going to disown you as my son again.” Stoick complained. “At this point I think you’re too proud of me to do that again.” Hiccup climbed back up to the shelf they’d just come off of, and held out his hand. “Even if recognizing me again will give you headaches down the road. Having to explain to all those people back on Berk that maybe, just maybe, you were wrong about dragons for… Only the gods know how long. And that the few people who actually studied them for more than a couple of minutes and saw that they weren’t what we thought, but were chastised, or even cast out were right the whole time. It will be a mess, I don’t doubt that. But once all the dust settles and everyone gets to experience what you and the others you brought here got to experience. You’ll be seen as a hero who heralded in a new age where humans and dragons work and live in harmony.” Stoick grasped his son’s arm and both of them pull Stoick up. “Is that what you think’s going to happen?”“How else would it turn out? It’s not like it matters much to me anyways. You’re Stoick The Vast. You’re known for hating dragons and actively hunting and killing the ones who’ve hurt you personally. And while the stories will mention someone who helped show you that we aren’t monster but instead great allies. It won’t be me. It’ll be a messiah, or a vision. Or simply a dragon. And for me, I don’t care as long as the dragons have humans as an ally. If humans see value in dragons they’ll protect them, and some will go above and beyond to do so. Even if humans continue to move forward, and invent new things, leaving dragons behind in technology. At least I know they’ll get dragged along. They may not have things made by them, but surely humans will make things for them. They’ll see that they’re not simple like a deer or cow. They live like us, together in huge groups and work together to live. The world will eventually know that dragons can talk. Like humans do. They can live and work like humans do. I want these people to get past just scraping by, and to prosper. There’s no reason a species this smart shouldn’t get the chance to prove themselves.” The pair continued to slowly climb back up the shelves. Often Hiccup getting up first and helping his father afterwards. “Those are some lofty goals, Hiccup.” Stoick wheezed as he stopped to take a breath. “Yes well. I believe in a future with them in it. And I fear that I could be too late already. Because humans have been fighting with us for so long our numbers have dropped a lot. I don’t know if dragons live all around the world but if what’s here is all that’s left. I can’t afford to lose many more. And they take so long to have children it’s hard for them to build up numbers. Even if all the groups came together it would be hard to build up. I’m mostly just hoping that when I can finally get through to those on Berk, and show them that we aren’t monsters, that everyone’s lives will get easier.”“That’s going to take a ton of work to get even half as far as you want to.”“That’s no surprise. Stubborn viking, and equally stubborn dragons working together. Or well I shouldn’t say the dragons are stubborn. They want to help and be useful, that isn’t the issue I see coming up. What I do see happening is a lack of respect. Especially in the beginning. I think it’ll be hard for those working with them. They aren’t pets as much as it may seem like they are at times. They love to sit around a fire and cuddle, and run around and have fun, and be, animals, I guess. They, in general, like to be scratched under the chin and petted and looked after, but you also have to remember that they’re like humans. They have feelings, and sometimes those feelings can be a lot to deal with. You know, a human gets overly angry you may get punched, make a dragon angry… Well I think I can say that they’ll bite your head off, in all senses of the word. And it’s not like they hide their emotions very well. They very much wear their hearts on their sleeves, as it were.”“I see, good to know.”...
Garrus-V4karian
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