Disclaimer: Of course HTTYD is mine: I stole everything from them. I'm a pirate.

Author's Note: I'm ba-aaaack! Didn't think that would ever happen! I haven't completely abandoned my other stories. Nothing is ever completely abandoned unless I get rid of it. Don't expect me to be updating much: Phantom of the Opera will eat up my life. All good things come to those who wait. First time I looked at Stoick like this. Hope you like it!

"Stop messin around, you useless lot!"

"It wasn't my fault! He started it!"

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"SILENCE! You are the worst excuses for new recruits I've ever seen! It's impossible for you to be this pathetic! It's an absolute disgrace!"

Despite the volume of Gobber's bellows, they lit a tiny candle inside Stoick's chest as he slipped across the wet bridge towards the training arena. Gobber was still doing his part. Not everything had turned completely upside-down.

"I DON'T CARE WHO STARTED IT!" Gobber continued, "DO YOU THINK THESE DRAGONS WILL LAY DOWN AT YOUR FEET AND SLAY THEMSELVES? COME BACK TOMORROW WHEN YOU CAN TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!"

The teens slunk away silently then buzzed once they noticed their chief's early return. Gobber turned to see what all the fuss was about. He grew wary when he saw the expression on Stoick's face.

"You're back! So soon? Did you find the nest?"

Stoick shook his head. It was going to be tough, saying it to someone. He didn't quite believe it himself.

"Really? Awh, that's a shame. I was sure you were right that time. Don't worry: next year." He groaned, "Those kids made about as much progress as you did. They're wearing me out. You look parched yourself. Let's go for a drink."

"Gobber-" Stoick stopped him. He took a deep breath. "-We were only a few days in when the dragons found us. Must have been guarding it… They attacked and-" Something constricted in his throat and tears welled up in his eyes. "-Slaughtered half of us. There were hundreds- thousands- more than we'd originally thought. And-Gobber- Val is dead."

Gobber's expression emitted deep sympathy for Stoick. The two comrades embraced with one arm then patted each other on the back. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"I miss her, too. In that case we'll make yours a big one."

"No, not yet," Stoick sighed, "I haven't told Hiccup."

"Sweet Valhalla! You haven't told him?" Gobber screamed.

Stoick shushed him. "People will notice! I had to ask you first. He's overly sensitive. He's not going to take this well unless I use some amount of tact. Ever since he's started working for you you see him more than I do. How much could he take?"

"You're honestly asking me about tact? What have you been drinking? Listen, Stoick, he's your son. Just tell him what you told me. He'll take it alright. It's just what he needs. Things like this happen but it's all a part of life. We accept it and move on."

"Gobber, I've been feeding him enough of that mumbo already. He won't want to listen to it."

"He'll have to someday. He's going to be the chief, too, Odin help us," he added.

"Hiccup wouldn't make that bad a chief!" said Stoick loyally. He wouldn't have said that before he left but now things were different. He had little to hold on to: the island eternally threatened, short on warriors, the new recruits goofing off…Val dead… "But he won't be decent unless I find some way for him to believe this hogwash."

"Hogwash? Whaddaya mean hogwash? Fine, Stoick, do it your way; tell him his mummy's gone to visit the gods and she'll be back in time for tea. Or, if you like, tell him he can go and visit."

"He may be scatterbrained, but he's not stupid! He'll find this a real shock. He worshipped that woman. Thought she was invincible. This will change his everything." Stoick worried.

"You have to be honest with him or he'll never trust you." Stoick glared at Gobber. "What? I warned you about my lack of tact."

The chief raised his eyes to the heavens. "Only Val would know what to do now."

"She couldn't have. Why would she worry herself over telling her own son she's dead?" Gobber said, "You'll just have to pull through without her."

Stoick groaned. "Hiccup is not going to like this."

"He's a Viking. We're warriors. We win some, we lose some," (Gobber waved his false hand); "Death is a fact of life. He has to realize that sometime. Better he learn that from you than from someone else."

"He's only six."

"Dad!"

Out of the grey afternoon came Hiccup, tripping over his own feet, running towards his father, fit to burst with excitement.

Stoick's heart lurched. Now was the time to tell him. He wasn't ready. But this was his only shot. He couldn't blow it.

"Dad! Dad! Dad! I saw Uncle Baggybum and I knew you were back! You'll never believe what I have to tell you! It's such a great idea! I got it just after you left." Hiccup's eyes were bright and full of life.

"Son, there's something I have to tell you, too."

"You're off to a good start," said Gobber, "but those kids…" He shook his head at the thought of the new recruits' shenanigans. "If you want to join me later, I'll be havin a pint. Good luck, Stoick. You're on your own now." He patted Stoick on the shoulder and hobbled off.

Hiccup seemed too elated to notice that the adults had even spoken. He continued at warp speed, "It's urgent that we start building now! There's no time to waste!" He grabbed Stoick's hand and dashed back towards their house.

Stoick tried to calm Hiccup down but his attempts were futile. How could an idea give that boy so much energy?

"Hiccup, there's something we nee-"

"You'll never guess what it is!" sang Hiccup, his excitement building, "GAHIT'SSOCOOL!"

Never had the house looked so bare and lonely. Val had always been so much better at parenting than he had. Now raising a child was going to be more difficult than he had thought. How could Hiccup have thought up something so big?

Hiccup pulled his father up the front steps and inside the house, ran about for a moment and before Stoick had even closed the door, Hiccup failed at thrusting a leather-bound notebook in his face. Hurriedly, Hiccup picked it up off the floor and proudly displayed the diagram of this idea.

Not even glancing at the picture Stoick said, "That's nice son, but-"

"Nice doesn't even begin to describe it, Dad! It flies!" Hiccup announced grandly, "It's a Viking-powered dragon! An enormous mechanical dragon to scare off the others! And just in case some of the foolishly brave ones venture too closely, we'll have warriors inside to hold them off! We'd never have another raid again! You know what; it also could have been helpful on your quest, too! Could have gotten the dragons in one place so you could-"

"Hiccup-"

"Did you find it?"

Stoick looked into his son's wide green eyes. How content the boy was. He only wished he could savor this innocence. In spite of the situation, Stoick smiled.

"Hah! I knew you would!" In a dance of victory, Hiccup pulled out his dagger and waved it around like a toy, imagining the swarms of dragons falling to his feet with every stroke of his blade.

"Hiccup, you're going to break something again, put that away." Stoick advised. Hiccup did not. He was in his own world. Now that he was the only parent, he, Stoick, would have to be the one to bring him back to reality.

"Son… we didn't find the nest."

Only that could slow Hiccup down. "What do you mean?"

"Dragons found us before we were even halfway there. They attacked." Stoick explained slowly.

Hiccup frowned. His eyes had lost their sparkle.

"We lost half of our warriors. I'm afraid your mother… was one of them."

There was a clatter as Hiccup's dagger fell to the floor. In a moment that lasted eternity, Hiccup looked at Stoick with utter terror and disbelief etched onto every inch of his face. Please don't cry, please don't cry, Stoick prayed.

Then Hiccup blinked, took a deep breath, and stared at the floor. After a while he asked, "She died in battle, did she?" Hiccup asked quietly.

"Yes," said Stoick, surprised at the quick rebound.

Hiccup nodded. "That's what she would have wanted, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Without another word, his son picked his dagger and book from the floor and slunk up the stairs to his bedroom.

Stoick needed to sit down. Now everything really had turned upside-down. This was not how he had expected Hiccup to react at all. He was being… mature about it! But that would be impossible! This boy was six!

Right then, Stoick became extremely concerned for Hiccup and the tribe's fate with someone like him for their leader. What lengths would he have his people go to? Would he force them to participate in ludicrous experiments like the construction of that huge impossible flying reptile? Would they all disobey their parents, run to the woods, come back with bruises of all sorts and say they found trolls? Maybe he would take Gobber's offer on that pint.

When Stoick came home that night, he could have sworn he heard stifled crying from upstairs. He wondered if it was Hiccup but it couldn't have been. How could he forget the crazy way in which his son had handled the situation? He had to be messing around. That wasn't Hiccup.

But then again, Stoick was very drunk…

Just for clarification: In the books, Hiccup's mom is not dead. She is in fact alive but is often on quests. Her name is Valhallarama. No joke. Look it up. In the books, Stoick has a brother, Baggybum the Beerbelly. No joke. Look it up. His only son is actually Snotlout! So in the books Hiccup and Snotlout are COUSINS! You should have seen my face when I figured that out.

The next chapter will occur two years later from the perspective of Hiccup. Hopefully it will be soon!