▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

The trapper's ship sailed across the waters, an icy chill in the air.

"Keep your eyes peeled, lads!" Eret calls as he looks out onto the horizen. "With this wind we'll reach Drago by daybreak. So best we fill this ship up with dragons and quick!"

He walks down onto the deck with concern on his face, sighing deeply. "It's no time to be picky! Not if we want to keep our..."

"Uh... Eret?" One of his men gets his attention, pointing to the sky. Eret's eyes widen when he sees three dragons flying in the distance towards them.

".. Heads!" He laughs, "off the port quarter!" Eret shouts, the men preparing the ballistas.

"Net them, lads! Take them down!"

He loads the ballista with a net, squinting to see the dragons before his eyes widen at the sight of the familiar Dragon riders.

"You're not gettin' away this time," he growls, switching the lever and firing the netting.

"Fire!"

(D/N) straightens out, the silver flesh under his wings making him invisible as (Y/N) presses her front to the saddle, easily dodging the netting as Stormfly swoops above and spins, Toothless dodging left and right.

"Reload!

"Reload..."

"Incoming!"

(D/N) lands on the ship with a snort, several of the men yelping in surprise as Eret narrows his eyes at the girl.

Hiccup lands besides her, Astrid at her other side and ready for battle as she grabs her battle axe.

"And here I was worried we might turn up empty handed," Eret smirks, aiming his sword at Hiccup.

Astrid rises from her seat, halting in confusion as Hiccup stops her. "Nope. It's your lucky day," he says, smiling wide, (Y/N) looks ahead as (D/N) rumbles with a raised brow.

"We give up!"

Eret's brow raises as his smirk falls to a confused frown, his sword drooping.

He shrugs as Astrid stares at the boy in bewilderment. "Here," (Y/N) calls, tossing her sword to Eret, who fumbles to catch it.

She walks forward, leaning forward so her and Eret's faces were inches apart, a smirk on her face at his surprised expression.

"Don't loose it.."

The man stares at her with wide eyes as she makes her way towards Hiccup, his jaw slack and cheeks a light pink.

"That's one Night Fury, one Deadly Nadder, and one Woolly Howl," Hiccup cheerfully says, tossing the net on Astrid and grabbing her axe.

"And three of the finest dragon riders west of Luk Tuk."

Eret continues to stare at them with wide eyes as (Y/N) walks to the Haddock boy, gently grabbing his hand and smiling.

"That ought to make the boss happy, right?"

Toothless snarls at Eret as he passes, (D/N) blinking rapidly and trotting after his rider, his head held high with a dramatic strut.

"Now, is that how you treat a lady?" Hiccup tsks, shoving an axe away from (Y/N)'s path as she shakes her head with a chuckle.

"What are you doing?" Astrid whispers as
(Y/N) hops into the cage, (D/N) starting to climb in after her.

"(D/N), it's okay.." she coos, rubbing the Howls snout softly with a gentle smile.

"You too, Toothless," Hiccup says as he climbs down, Astrid hopping in.

Toothless and (D/N) look at each other in concern for a moment before Toothless lightly paws at the cage as it lowers.

"The dragons don't care for cramped spaces, so they'll just hang out with you," Hiccup calls to the trappers as they continue to watch in confusion and slight suspicion.

"They shouldn't be any trouble," (Y/N) adds, laughing softly as (D/N) begins to gnaw at the cage with a huff.

Toothless roars and jumps in surprise with his wings stretched, (D/N) rolling his eyes as his tail flickers angrily at the men as they all aim their weapons at them.

"Unless you do that," Hiccup peeks out of the cage with a raised brow. "You know, wooden boat..."

"Big ocean..." (Y/N) adds as she pokes her head out. "How--how is your swimming?" Hiccup questions with a raised brow and a smirk.

".. Not good," a trapper sheepishly responds in concern.

Eret exhales loudly in disbelief, looking towards the sky in annoyance.

They all jump with gasps as Hiccup raises his sword, melting off the lock and opening the trap door.

"Oops! Almost forgot," Hiccup lightly smacks his head. "You can't have armed prisoners!"
A trapper takes the flame sword as Astrid shakes her head.

"How is this a plan?"

(Y/N) smile reassuringly at her friend as she peeks out next to Hiccup.

"Just what every Dragon trapper needs,"
Hiccup advertises with a light voice. "A well made family sword and a sword of my own invention."

"Hey!!" (Y/N) yells, causing Eret to jump, a sound of surprise leaving him. "Don't just toss my sword all over, put it on a table at least!"

Eret quickly sets her sword against a side table, a laugh of disbelief leaving him.

Hiccup holds back a laugh before he notices a man messing with his sword.

"One end coats the blade in Monstrous
Nightmare saliva," Hiccup explains as the man releases the gas from the sword, (Y/N) slowly ducking down.

"The other sprays Hideous Zippleback gas. All it needs is a spark, and.."

Eret swiftly rushes away with wide eyes as a trapper pushes a button on the handle, a spark releasing from the sword and causing the gas to explode as Hiccup ducks down.

"Oh, yeah. There you go!" (Y/N) laughs, looking back out at the trappers, now covered in ash and scorch marks.

They cough as they inhale the smoke,
Toothless rumbling as he starts playing with an ember floating in the air.

"Once they see you as one of their own, even the testiest dragons can be trained. Right guys?" Hiccup grins, (D/N) chittering in response as he lays down near the cage by
(Y/N).

Eret shakes his head, grabbing Hiccup's blade from his men.

"Give me that," he growls, hurling it out to sea, Stormfly quickly chases it. "What game are you two playing?" Eret demands, glaring down at the teens.

"No game," (Y/N) shrugs, grinning as Stormfly drops Hiccup's sword by Eret.

"We just wanna meet Drago."

Eret looks down at the sword with a raised brow, grabbing it and throwing it to sea once more and turning back.

"Why?"

"Because we're going to change his mind about Dragons," Hiccup replies, Toothless sitting next to (D/N).

The men laugh, Eret laughing before looking down at the sword at his feet in disbelief as Stormfly eagerly wags her tail.

"They can be really persuasive " Astrid warns in a light tone, peeking out.

"Earning a dragon's loyalty is one of the most incredible things you can do," (Y/N) smiles, setting her hand on (D/N)'s head as he chitters happily.

"Once you earn their loyalty..there is nothing a dragon won't do for you." Hiccup nods, looking up at Eret.

The man blows a raspberry, shaking his head.

"You won't be changing any minds around here."

"We can change yours," Hiccup replies with a grin, stepping out of the cage. "Right here, right now."

Eret watches with narrowed eyes as Hiccup sets Toothless' tail, (Y/N) slowly climbing out of the cage, turning back and helping Astrid out.

"May we?"

Hiccup let's out a startled yelp, (Y/N) watching with a raised brow as he's suddenly swept up into the air.

Eret watches in disbelief, turning to the girl with a questioning look, to which she just shrugs her shoulders, not worried when she realizes who had just stolen her boyfriend.

The masts of the ship were torn by Dragon wings, causing it to roughly sway side to side.

"Dragon riders!" Eret shouts as Astrid leaps out of the cage, eyes wide with concern. (D/N) roars, about to take off but stops when (Y/N) sets a hand on his forehead in boredom.

Toothless snarls in anger as he climbs up the ripped masts and onto a high beam.

His attack-mode demeanor quickly changes, a rumble coming from his throat as he tilts his head at the other dragons.

(D/N) shakes his head with an annoyed expression, watching as Hiccup gets carried by Hookfang.

"Guys, what are you doing?" He demands, looking up at Snotlout, his head slightly spinning.

"See how well I protect and provide?"

Snotlout smirks at Ruffnut, who groans and shakes her head. They both grunt, gasping as Hiccup was suddenly dropped and begins to plummet towards the frozen water.

(Y/N) sighs, whistling to (D/N) and signaling him to fetch her disaster-prone boyfriend.

The Howl roars, swiftly taking off and grunting as Hiccup lands on his back, snorting and flying back down.

"Hey, watch it!" Ruffnut yells at her brother.

"That was..."

Her eyes widen when she sees Eret, time seeming to slow down as she stares starstruck.

"...Close..."

Eret aims at them, her eyes following his movements.

"Oh...my.."

Eret switches the lever, causing his muscles to flex as he does.

"Me likey..."

The net fires at them, Ruffnut holding her arms out in surrender, a giddy feeling bubbling in her chest.

"Take me!"

The net wraps around her as her brother groans, rolling his eyes as his sister gets tangled in the netting.

"Watch your fire!" Astrid shouts, shoving Eret aiming at them, causing the net to fire and avoid the twins.

(D/N) lands with a grunt, Hiccup bouncing off his back and landing next to an annoyed looking (Y/N).

The boy looks up at her, sighing in disbelief before they both turn towards their friends, one in anger and the other in annoyance.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Toothless joins the two, (D/N) jogging next to him and yawning.

"We're here to rescue you!" Gobber replies as
Grump lands heavily on the ship, the men yelping to avoid him.

"We don't need to be rescued!" Hiccup informs with raised brows. (Y/N) walks to the table, grabbing her sword and sheathing it behind her as she watches both Stoick and her father land.

"Enough!" (F/N) bellows, his Hobblegrunt  roaring and silencing everyone. (Y/N) sighed at the sight of her father, a bit amused to see him on the back of a rather skinny dragon.

Stoick jumps onto the deck, a scowl on his face as he walks forward. His Commander (aka
(F/N)..) hopping off his dragon and leaning against the railing.

"Well, didn't you just pick the wrong ship, eh?"
Eret talks as Stoick walks past Hiccup, Eret next to (Y/N).

"I am Eret. Son of-!"

Stoick rolls his eyes, shoving Eret's face away as he gestures for (Y/N) to join Hiccup.
Eret staggers back, landing on his behind before rising.

"I'm-!" Gobber lightly taps Eret's head with his mace, causing him to collapse and grunt as Grump uses him as a pillow.

"Get...this thing...off me!" He wheezes out, struggling to move.

"Anyone else?" Gobber rhetorically asks, the others intimidating the crew. "That's what I figured."

"You," Stoick grunts, walking over to Hiccup and (Y/N). "Saddle up. We're going home."

(Y/N) squints her eyes, rubbing her neck and shaking her head.

"No." Hiccup disagrees, grabbing her wrist and lightly tugging her back as he faces Stoick.

"Of all the irresponsible-!"

"We're trying to protect our dragons and stop a war!" Hiccup interrupts, his tone loud.

"How is that irresponsible?!"

"Because war is what he wants, son!" Stoick bellows, making Hiccup sigh and look away.
(D/N) and Toothless look at each other before looking at Stock in concern.

Stoick sighs heavily, his anger fading. "Years ago, there was a great gathering of Chieftains to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced.."

...

Stoick's scowls, his face younger. He looks around the room with sharp eyes, other Chiefs gathered around the table, (F/N) stood at his side, his posture strong and hands folded behind his back.

"Into our midst came a stranger from a strange land.."

A man enters the room, his face concealed by a hood and a cloak trailing behind him.

"Covered in scars and draped in a cloak of dragon skin. He carried no weapon... and spoke softly."

The man speaks, his voice quiet as he addresses the Chiefs.

"Saying that he Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people."

He gestures around the room, the Chiefs watching him closely.

"Devoted to freeing mankind from the tyranny of dragons.

Stoick raises a brow at Drago, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

His Commander however narrowed his eyes, glancing every few minutes towards his hammer, making sure it was at arms reach.

"He claimed that he alone could control the dragons, and that he alone..could keep us safe, if..."

Drago gestures wildly for a moment before relaxing, raising his hand.

"We chose to bow down and follow him."

Men in the room laugh, clapping and banging their hand on the table uproariously.

...

Fishlegs and Snotlout break out into laughter, along with Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"Stupid," she snickers. "Good one!" Tuffnut wipes a tear from his eye.

"Aye...we laughed, too," (F/N) speaks up, his voice cracking as Stoick continues.

...

"Until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried out."

"Then see how well you do without me!" Drago's muffled voice shouts as he turns and leaves the building.

Stoick watches before gasping, looking up at the sound of fire hissing.

"The rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and from it, armored dragons descended. Burning the hall to the ground."

Armored dragons swoop inside, setting the entire building aflame as Drago calmly
leaves.

...

"'We.." Stoick swallows, shutting his eyes as he gestures between him and (F/N). "..we're the only ones to escape."

The others look at him sympathetically, their laughter gone. Hiccup sighs softly, (Y/N)'s eyebrows knitted together in sadness as she watches her father sigh deeply.

"Men that kill without reason cannot be reasoned with."

"Maybe," Hiccup disagrees, walking towards
Toothless as (Y/N) watches him, quickly moving to (D/N) and climbing onto him.

"We're still going to try."

"Hiccup!" Stoick growls, walking after them as Eret looks to them in surprise.

(F/N)'s eyes widen as he watches his daughter, glaring as he stalks towards her.

"At the very least we can convince him to free the dragons," (Y/N) tells Stoick, glancing to her father with sad eyes.

"This is what we're good at. And if we can change your mind, we can change his, too."
Astrid smiles, nodding as Stock scowls and shakes his head.

Hiccup clicks his tongue in a pattern, (Y/N) nodding as the two take off.

Astrid races to Stormfly, jumping on.

"Let's go-!"

"No!" (F/N) yells, making her flinch as he points to the others. "Lead the others back to Berk. I've had enough mutiny for one day."

Stoick looks to his Commander with a stern look, glancing at Astrid before nodding, silently telling her to go.

She looks after her friends in concern as Stoick growls under his breath, stomping towards Skullcrusher.

Ruffnut lays down on her stomach next to Eret, who jumps at her prescence.

"Ooh, I like that," she says in a sultry voice, grabbing his bicep as he yanks his arm away in disgust.

"Ruffnut!"

"Ugh, okay!" Ruffnut shouts in annoyance, rising and kissing her fingers.

She moves them towards Eret, who tries smacking her away before groaning in disgust as she forcefully presses them to his lips.

Ruffnut follows Stoick as Eret wipes his mouth, his face showing disgust as he scowls after her. He rolls his eyes, laying his head atop his hands as he sighs, annoyed.

"I'd rather it be the (H/C) lass.."

——