Chapter Text
It had already been four years since the battle with the Red Death. Four? Wow, time really did fly by, and unfortunately for the young Viking, that meant his father, Stoick the Vast, was becoming increasingly concerned about his training as a leader.
Although, at nineteen years old, Hiccup had proven—in many ways—to be someone of exceptional intelligence, by Viking standards he was still somewhat far from being the ideal future pillar of Berk. Of course, he was no longer the outcast he had once been; however, it was difficult for the village to get used to seeing him as an authority figure when he was rarely involved in matters of leadership within the island.
But who could blame him? Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was an explorer. That much was undeniable. No matter how much he knew that, someday, his destiny was to take his father’s place, Hiccup simply couldn’t stay away from whatever lay outside. Much less when it involved dragons.
Hiccup tried, but he found it difficult to pay attention during sheep counts or even show much interest in the spring planting. His heart was out there: with the dragons. That was why, during those years, Hiccup devoted himself to exploring whatever lay beyond the island. On the one hand, in his own words, to find problems before they reached Berk. On the other, to satisfy his hunger for knowledge. Every time he added a new island to his map, Hiccup could only think about all the others he might find around it.
Of course, at first, he tried to spend as much time at home as he could. During his first years after proving to everyone that dragons were not the enemy, he devoted himself to teaching the clan about the beauty of the bond between these creatures and their riders. With that in mind, he renovated the training arena and turned it into a dragon training center. Later, he designed assembly blueprints for Gobber’s forge, documenting his saddle designs adapted to each species, as well as prosthetics for injured dragons. Likewise, with the desire to improve the dragons’ lives in Berk burning in his chest, he oversaw the construction of landing systems throughout the territory. He had even introduced dragon races alongside the Riders, which had quickly become one of his favorite activities.
Once all of that had been done, the major problems began turning into small, everyday difficulties. And no, he didn't mind. Quite the opposite. When this started happening, he understood that it was a good sign. It was becoming part of everyday life, and that was good. Really. He knew it was good.
That wasn't the problem.
Although Berk's new situation made him happy—for the dragons and, of course, for Berk—something inside him simply couldn't settle down.
Gods, why couldn't he just stay still?
That was why he chose to propose exploration missions to his father—more frequently than was objectively necessary. Stoick the Vast couldn't exactly object, especially when Hiccup emphasized the strategic benefits they brought to Berk. Whether it was scouting trade routes or searching for new resources and species, expanding their horizons and mapping out the surrounding islands provided an advantage that was impossible to ignore. Of course, his father understood the true driving force behind these explorations. It was impossible to overlook Hiccup's passion for simply knowing. And because he understood that those years of freedom wouldn't last forever, Stoick agreed to Hiccup's requests for exploration.
Besides dragon racing, this had become his favorite activity.
Sometimes he didn't go alone. Sometimes all it took was for Hiccup to mention that he wanted to find out what lay on the other side of a particular chain of islands for one of the Riders to offer to accompany him. Or two. Or, to be honest, all of them. Those expeditions looked very little like the missions his father imagined whenever he spoke of “strategic reconnaissance.” Most of the time, they ended up camping on some uninhabited island. Maps were spread across the ground, makeshift tents stood nearby, and dragons slept around the camp.
Another thing Hiccup particularly enjoyed was recording everything in his journal. Of course, he had often drawn things for Berk, but during his expeditions, Hiccup found the perfect opportunity to devote himself to projects that were a little more... personal. Besides the dragon manual—which had obviously been updated many times by then—he was passionate about documenting his visits to every island in the Archipelago he came across. He had learned to appreciate every detail at each of his stops, from the tiniest insect to the vastness of the sky. Hiccup tried to portray the flora and fauna around him as accurately as possible.
It was a diary.
Or, as he preferred to call it, his exploration log.
Unlike the dragon manual, it wasn't meant to be useful to anyone. There were no instructions or information that could help another rider. There, Hiccup could allow himself to write whatever he wanted: what he had found, what he had learned, which places he had liked the most, and even how he had felt while he was there.
Some pages were filled with detailed drawings. Others contained incomplete maps, hurried notes, or little observations scribbled in the margins. There were nights when he sat beside a campfire to record everything he had seen that day, and others when he simply wrote a few lines before falling asleep.
Over time, those pages became something much more personal than he had expected. Whenever his responsibilities in Berk prevented him from leaving, whenever he had to stay home helping his father or dealing with some matter concerning the Riders, Hiccup could open the journal and return, even if only for a few minutes, to any one of those places.
It had been two weeks since his last exploration trip. And although Hiccup adamantly refused to admit it, he was beginning to grow impatient. It wasn't that he was bored. He had enough responsibilities in Berk to keep him occupied for weeks. It was simply that... something didn't feel quite right whenever too much time passed without him setting foot outside the island.
Besides, he couldn't accept the reason he hadn't been able to leave for so long.
During his last expedition, a merchant had returned to Berk claiming that pirates had stolen part of his cargo. It wasn't anything particularly concerning; at least, not to Hiccup. The area was within the routes they had already mapped, and according to the merchant's account, the pirates didn't seem to be armed with anything particularly dangerous or unfamiliar. Nothing a dragon and his rider couldn't handle.
The mission, in theory, was simple. All they had to do was check whether the pirates were still nearby, locate the cargo, and demand its return.
The problem was that Hiccup hadn't been able to take the people he would have chosen first.
With winter approaching, Astrid and Fishlegs had far too much work to do in Berk to be gone for several days. And Snotlout... well, Snotlout had stayed behind for reasons Hiccup considered obvious.
So he'd had to go with Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
It wasn't that he didn't trust them.
Well.
Maybe a little.
Still, the twins had enough experience, and the mission didn't seem to require much. Hiccup had explained the instructions with absolute clarity before they left: get there, inspect the area, avoid drawing attention, find the pirates, recover the cargo, and return.
Simple.
Simple.
He should have known that nothing involving the twins could ever be simple.
They landed on a rock. It was cloudy, but Hiccup remained calm. It was only a matter of waiting. Everything had been going relatively well until the twin spotted the ship.
— I'm going first! —Tuffnut exclaimed.
— Don't even think about it! I saw it first! —Ruffnut shot back.
Hiccup looked toward the ship they had just spotted. Well, at least they'd managed to locate it quickly. He headed toward the pair of blondes, intending to organize the ambush, but when he saw that they were still arguing, he sighed, somewhat exasperated.
— Can you argue about this after the mission?
Neither answered.
— Ruffnut... —Hiccup began, trying to restore some semblance of order, only to be interrupted by Tuffnut.
— I'm going first, Hiccup! It's my turn to be the leader. I found it.
— Tuffnut. —Hiccup couldn't even get another word out.
— No! Hiccup! He always gets the fun part!
— Because you take too long!
— Because you don't know how to wait!
Hiccup had no idea what expression to make. Seriously? They had decided to argue now? He rubbed his forehead with his fingers, trying to calm himself down.
Too late.
The echo of their voices traveled across the cliff.
Hiccup's eyes widened.
A second later, he heard the sound he had been dreading.
A whistle.
Then another.
The first cannonballs flew over their heads.
— Let's go! —Hiccup shouted.
He didn't have to say anything else.
Barf and Belch dove while Hiccup pulled on Toothless's reins. The three dragons shot toward the sea just as another volley struck the rock where they had been standing only seconds before.
The dragons dodged the shots as they tried to put some distance between themselves and the shore. Nothing serious. They had already managed to get away from the ship when Hiccup heard the twins' voices once again.
— I knew it! Ruffnut always ruins everything! —Tuffnut exclaimed.
— Because you started it!
— I didn't start anything!
Hiccup turned his head, but before he could say anything, Barf and Belch crossed paths in midair, far too close to each other. Their heads collided, and both dragons momentarily lost their balance.
For a moment, Hiccup thought they would manage to recover.
And, in fact, the dragons did recover.
The problem was that their riders didn't.
— WAIT, WAIT—! —the twins shouted almost in unison.
Splash.
Hiccup barely had time to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut fall into the water before Toothless dove toward them. Barf and Belch quickly regained their flight as well and descended after their riders. It hadn't been a particularly dangerous fall. The water had cushioned the impact, and by the time Hiccup reached them, both were already resurfacing.
— Are you okay?! —Hiccup asked, flying overhead.
— Yes! —Ruffnut answered, pushing her wet hair away from her face.
— Perfectly! —Tuffnut added.
Hiccup let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Then he looked at them.
Gods. They were soaked!
He instinctively glanced at the gray sky and then at the sea. The sight reminded him that winter was just beginning.
He grimaced worriedly.
— What? —Tuffnut asked as he climbed onto his respective dragon. Ruffnut did the same.
— Nothing. —Hiccup sighed.— Nothing we can't fix once we get back to Berk.
The dragons carried them back to solid ground, and although none of them had suffered any serious injuries, the mission could already be considered a failure. They hadn't recovered the cargo, nor had they managed to find out where the pirates had come from.
And, to make matters worse, they now had to return to Berk with two riders soaked to the bone at the very beginning of winter.
Stoick wasn't happy.
Not at all.
The twins began sneezing the moment they set foot on the island, forcing them to head straight to Gothi's hut. Hiccup had tried to explain to his father that nobody had been injured, that they had confirmed the pirates' presence and... it was pointless. With winter approaching, Berk couldn't afford to have sick Vikings or waste their medicine supplies before the hardest season had even begun.
Hiccup understood. The argument ended with one very clear conclusion: there would be no new expeditions for the next few days.
Hiccup refused to call it a punishment.
Because, come on.
Punished?
Seriously?
— I didn't think your dad would actually ground you. —Astrid said as she passed by Gobber's forge, where Hiccup had decided to spend his time during his confinement.
Hiccup, who had been staring at the horizon for several minutes with a half-finished saddle in his hands, slowly turned his head. He sighed and smiled as best he could, trying not to let her notice his annoyance.
— He didn't ground me —he replied. Then he went back to focusing on the saddle.
— Hiccup, he forbade you from leaving the island.
— Temporarily.
Astrid raised an eyebrow.
It was that look. The same one that said, I know exactly what you're doing, and we both know you're not going to convince me.
Hiccup knew it all too well.
Or, well, vice versa.
Astrid knew him far too well, too. She had spent so many years by his side that she could recognize every one of his gestures, even those that didn't require words. And although, at one point, he had mistaken that closeness for an innocent crush—something he had eventually learned to leave behind—Hiccup had come to see her simply for what she was: one of the people he trusted most.
And, being completely honest with himself, also as a Viking who represented practically everything his father expected from him.
Undeniably.
Astrid was decisive. Disciplined. Strong. She knew how to make herself heard and, when necessary, take command without a second thought.
Definitely everything Stoick would have wanted to see in his future leader.
Hiccup lowered his gaze to the saddle.
— Besides, I have work, he muttered, stubbornly maintaining his act of nothing's wrong.
Astrid looked at the piece in his hands. It was difficult to ignore the fact that Hiccup was reaching the limits of his patience.
— It's a... strategic pause, Hiccup added, desperately trying—and failing—to make Astrid stop looking at him that way.
— Of course.
— Necessary for reflecting on my decisions.
— Naturally.
— And to help out more around Berk.
Astrid crossed her arms.
— How long until you're allowed to go out again?
Hiccup fell silent.
— I don't know.
Hiccup let his head drop.
The truth was, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was embarrassed that he hadn't been able to complete the mission without any mishaps. He had fought dragons! Tamed countless others! He had been out there many times before, for weeks at a time, even in terrible weather. And because of one little mishap—which, no, wasn't his fault—Stoick had decided to punish—put him on a break.
Hiccup wasn't sure whether he should feel embarrassed or feel like it was unfair.
He understood, of course he did.
— I guess I should be happy, right? —he murmured.
Astrid tilted her head.
— Happy?
Hiccup set the saddle down on the table.
— Yeah.
There was a moment of silence.
— Look at everything we have now. Berk is doing well. The dragons are doing well. We have... —he made a small gesture with his hand, searching for the right words.— All of this. I helped make some of it happen. We all did.
Astrid said nothing.
— And I'm supposed to feel proud, right? Or at least feel like it was... enough.
His voice had lost the teasing tone from a few minutes earlier.
— I wanted to prove that I could do things differently, and now... Hiccup let out a small laugh, though there wasn't much humor in it.— Now things are different. They're better.
He looked around the forge.
— So why do I feel like...? —he sighed once more and simply placed a hand against his forehead. He didn't even know where he was going with this. He ran a hand through his hair before continuing.
— It's not that I don't want to be here. I love Berk. I love the dragons. It's just that when I've been here for too long, I feel like something is missing. And that's what I don't understand.
With that, he picked up the saddle again, but rather than continuing his work, he simply turned it over in his hands.
Astrid watched him in silence. It took her a few seconds to answer.
— I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to leave, Hiccup.
Hiccup looked up and frowned slightly.
— But I'm the future chief of Berk. I should want to be here.
— That doesn't mean you have to stop wanting to be somewhere else.
Astrid took the saddle Hiccup had been fidgeting with on the table and stopped him.
— Besides, you've spent a long time doing exactly the opposite of staying still. You can't expect your mind to simply... shut off because everything is okay now.
Hiccup let out a small laugh. Maybe Astrid had a point.
Well, who was he kidding? She always had a point.
— Your father knows that, Hiccup.
They exchanged one last look, and Astrid offered him a small smile. Hiccup returned it.
That was the last thing she did before letting go of the saddle and leaving.
Astrid was right.
And so, staying in Berk for a few more days didn't feel quite so unbearable.