.~.

The crowd murmured in deep rumbles, all looking around at each others' faces. Confusion and curiosity were mostly shown, along with the occasional fear in a person's eyes. Whatever was about to happen, it would affect their lives forever. The tension in the air seemed to get thicker as a lull came over the town center, everyone's gaze drawn to the large figure walking proudly towards a large pedestal stone in the middle. Some started to talk lowly as the smaller young man limped behind him, his dark scaly shadow not far from his side.

Standing tall over the many spiky helmeted heads, the large bearded man raised his hands and motioned to the crowd.

"Al'right, quiet down. This is important." He paused and placed his hands on his hips, gazing around as all eyes swept up to him and mouths closed, the entire area silent except for the rumbles and hisses of the scaled creatures watching from the hatchery not too far away.

"Now, as many of you know, we've had a bit o' trouble with our unfriendly neighbors to the east. The lot o' them even taking to attackin' our fishing vessels." The man's brow tightened as a few voices rose in anger at the cowardice of the tribe that had shown up out of the blue a month ago. Having reached an understanding that the village of Berk had impressive defenses in the form of winged, fire-breathing guardians, the tribe had taken to sneaking around in small raiding boats, dogging the village's attempts to acquire fish for supplies and to keep them trapped on their island.

As the crowd settled down again to let him continue, Stoick turned his eyes to his son, who stood near him on the pedestal, one hand scratching nervously on the snout of his dragon. The dragon - a dark, sleek Night Fury, better known to the village as Toothless - merely sat on his haunches, peering around the crowd with his large cat-like eyes.

Stoick wasn't quite sure how his son would take his announcement that he was about to make. The meeting had gone on for at least a day and a half, and even then he still wasn't sure every elder agreed. Responsibility would weigh heavily on one person, more than any other in the village, and some had been concerned that it would be too much.

But, he had argued, the times had changed.

"Today, we have finally reached a decision regarding these attacks." Watching the crowd, he chose his next words carefully.

"We have decided to start a unit composed of those who would ride their dragons into battle and strike from the air, and my son, Hiccup, has been selected to be the leader."

A shocked murmur rose through the crowd, some glancing between the two figures on the pedestal, some talking between themselves. Hiccup's name echoed through the square as everyone took in the chief's announcement.

Hiccup himself had gone rigid with shock, his eyes wide as they darted to his father's back. When the elders had all gathered in the Great Hall, he hadn't expected them to be discussing himself. He wondered if he was the reason the meeting had gone on so long. With his past history, he was sure it would have taken a miracle for the village to accept him into a place of power so soon. Sure, he was the chief's son, but he had years to grow into that position, and earn it the right way.

But to place him as head of a group of Vikings to ride into battle on dragons? He honestly questioned if his father had lost his mind.

"Dad…" he breathed. Stoick turned at his son's voice, giving him a soft, almost searching look.

"Hiccup," he started. What could he say? He had suddenly thrust heavy burdens onto his sons' shoulders without as much as a warning. Ever since the battle at the Dragon's Nest, he had come to understand that his son was a truly brave and brilliant young man. He had done the impossible and brought two warring species together as friends and companions. Stoick almost couldn't remember a time when the village had been as peaceful as after the dragons' had been accepted.

But, history repeats itself, and if it wasn't going to be dragons they were at war with, it would have to be something else.

He took a few steps forward, placing his large hand on his son's shoulder. Hiccup stared up into his father's face, searching his eyes. Stoick gave a warm smile, patting his hand twice on his son's back and bringing him forward in front of the crowd.

"As of today, my son is no longer a Viking."

The crowd gasped. Had their chief lost his mind? Hiccup had turned pale, peering up at his dad with an almost fearful look. But Stoick remained calm, with a proud smile on his face. Almost as if he could sense what the large man was planning, Toothless came forward also to sit on the opposite side of Hiccup, his tail swishing like a feline. His eyes pinned the crowd, causing them to stay quiet.

"From this day forth, my son will be the first to champion a new title: Dragon Warrior."

After a moment, a loud cheer rose throughout the villagers. Anyone who had been present for Hiccup's heroic display against the Red Death certainly didn't question this new turn of events for the chief's son. Anyone who could tame the rarest dragon of all and take down the biggest dragon of all certainly was a worthy warrior and leader.

Hiccup stood numb, merely staring down towards the ground. Him, a leader of a group of dragon riders, and on top of that, a newly appointed Dragon Warrior? He focused on the prosthetic foot on his left side, questioning his ability to do anything even remotely heroic when he could barely walk without needing support.

A comforting purr rumbled beside him, and Toothless' snout came into his view. He immediately smiled and brought his head up to look at his best friend. It almost seemed like his problems faded. Toothless couldn't fly without him, and in a strange twist, he relied on the black dragon to help him simply walk. But together, they became an unstoppable force. Toothless' power and speed. Hiccup's intelligence and strategic knowledge.

He gave a warm rub to his dragon's head, turning back to his father to smile up at him. Stoick grinned back proudly, hugging his son close with one arm. He continued on in a loud, booming voice to the crowd.

"Starting tomorrow, any and all villagers believing they have what it takes to be in my son's unit should report to the training grounds. We'll show those mongrels what it means to mess with Berk!"

The crowd roared with vigor, applauding loudly. Stoick smiled proudly, and, many noted, so did his son and Night Fury.

Tomorrow was a new day.

.~.