This is Berk.

Everyone here is completely different, from the kinds of dragons they fly to their preferences for tea. It's what makes life interesting around here.

But if there's one thing almost everyone has in common, it's a love for competition. Life, in some ways, is a big competition so it's good to start it out learning about how to get ahead.

The one thing people tend to neglect or forget is the person who always falls behind. The person who simply can't offer the right skills to have a hope of clawing their way to the top.

But is there hope for that person? Well, with enough intelligence and cunning, anything is possible.

Fearless Finn Haddock seemed to have found another skill at which he excelled. At nearly ten years old, he was finally allowed to participate in some of the heavier, more strenuous manual labor and he found himself enjoying it immensely. Carrying logs back to the village for firewood, repairing roofs, and digging wells were all difficult jobs but Finn relished the challenges they presented. He would return home covered in sweat (and sometimes dirt) but feeling very accomplished.

This was why people thought it was odd for a boy that driven to be close friends with a man far too old to join him. But Finn and Benen, for nearly three years, had kindled a friendship that defied all logic. The elderly man was introspective, quiet, and calm. The boy was a natural leader; he could bark out orders and grown men would find themselves obeying until they realized that Finn wasn't their boss. A boy so forceful and a man so laid back didn't seem to be a good pair. But the oddest thing about the two of them was that, despite Finn's need for control, he hung onto Benen's every word and followed his advice to the letter. Benen never had to raise his voice or give orders, he could merely suggest something and, to Finn, his word was law.

The old man was a frequent visitor to the Haddocks' house, which was just outside the village and closer to the arena. Now that his friend's tenth birthday was rapidly approaching, he had been enlisted to help build a frame for the dragon pen that would very soon be necessary. Finn stuck around to help the man with his measurements. He didn't know the kind of dragon he would be getting but he did know that it would be big, because a chief's dragon has to be big. When he'd told Benen this fact, he chuckled and expanded the measurements to accommodate the boy's predictions.

A bright day in early summer found the pair smoothing out the dirt next to the Haddock house so that it was a good foundation. Benen measured wooden logs and handed them to Finn, who would saw them to the length they were supposed to be so that the pen would be proportional.

As he measured out the logs, he noticed the boy sawing them with a ferocity that certainly didn't match his demeanor. For a moment, the man stopped and watched the boy's movements. It almost looked like each log had deeply offended him. His thick eyebrows were furrowed, his face almost as red as his hair, and his freckles were sticking out like someone had painted them on with dirt.

"What's on your mind?" he asked in a gentle tone, his voice barely audible over the racket Finn was making.

Finn looked up at him, wiping his brow with the back of an equally freckled arm. "Nothing."

"Well then why are you overexerting yourself? You're going to be worn out well before all the work is done." Benen sat down on the ground and crossed his fingers in his lap, fixing a serene gaze upon the frazzled boy.

"I'm just... tired." Finn admitted, picking up the saw and attempting to distract himself with the noise.

"Tired... you don't look tired, Finn." Benen breathed a laugh and patted the ground in front of him. "Sit down, take a break."

"I don't want to take a break."

"Hard work is essential but so are the moments in between. Don't wear yourself out. It's not healthy." Benen smiled as the boy put down the saw and sat in front of his friend. "So what's really on your mind?"

Finn looked down at his hands. "It's not... it's not important. I'm okay."

"In my experience," Benen said, fixing a light blue gaze on the boy's forehead, "having to tell someone you're okay usually means that you're not. Otherwise they wouldn't have to ask."

Finn sighed deeply. "I had the dream again."

"Which one?" Benen asked amiably, his eyes never wavering for a second.

"Ratri was hitting me with his cane. And I was begging him not to." the boy's face turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. "I hate it."

"Yes... that is a bad dream." Benen placed a hand on the boy's knee. "But you mustn't let it control you while you're awake."

"Do you ever have nightmares?" Finn asked boldly.

"Everyone has nightmares. As for myself... not so much about Ratri. I got used to his treatment, found ways to avoid being beaten, and kept to myself on the rare breaks I got." Benen sighed. "But I do have dreams that make me... sad."

"Sad?"

"Of my home. Of Aida. People I once knew." Finn's face fell but Benen's lips turned upward into another smile. "Oh, don't feel sorry for me. I may have lost those I love but I have gained much more. And have learned, through my hardships, to appreciate all that I have been given. I am a lucky man indeed."

Finn shook his head. "I'm sorry I'm telling you about stuff this stupid. I mean, you lost everything. And I hate these dreams but... I still have everyone I love. Well, everyone but Poppy." he smiled. "You would've liked him."

"I'm sure. I've heard so many stories." Benen fixed his gaze on Finn again. "But my problems aside, I can tell that this dream is upsetting you more than the others. Why?"

Finn bit his lip for a second before letting out a frustrated growl. "Because I stopped having them! I thought it was over... and that hard work would make them stop. But nothing does."

"I'm very sorry." Benen said, giving Finn the most sympathetic of gazes. "But I can promise you that it will get better. Things like this take time. And I assure you that your hard work will help. You're very industrious. Don't lose that."

"I completely agree!" came a voice from just above their heads.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was standing above them, amused at the startled expressions on their faces. They had, apparently, been so absorbed in their conversation that they hadn't noticed. This was quite a feat considering the thunk of the prosthetic that always signaled Finn's father's arrival. Finn immediately looked away when Hiccup looked at him, praying that he hadn't overheard anything other than Benen's statement.

"Well I see you've been busy." Hiccup added, eyeing the logs piled nearby. "But you really shouldn't be building anything until the dragons are here. You never know, you might get a Gronckle."

"I will never get a Gronckle. They're too cuddly." Finn vehemently shook his head.

"Don't rule them out." Benen said serenely. "Mine is a very loyal friend."

"There, you see?" Hiccup gestured to Benen. "You could follow your mentor's example."

"His Gronckle is old! She's like... a hundred." Finn shrugged. "I want something big and powerful. Like a Monstrous Nightmare or something."

"Yes, I could see you with one. Though if you treat it like Snotlout does, you're just going to have a grumpy and extremely dangerous dragon on your hands." Hiccup chuckled.

"I won't treat him like Snotlout does. I'm not getting a girl dragon... nothing against yours." Finn hastily added to Benen.

"My dragon isn't everyone's first choice, I know." Benen smiled. "But keep your mind open. You may be surprised."

"Two more days. I can't wait!" Finn hopped to his feet, his bright blue eyes resting on the foundation where his pen would be built.

"Neither can I! I've been looking forward to this moment since... since you guys existed!" Hiccup chirped, grinning at his son's enthusiasm.

"Really? Since they existed?" Astrid Hofferson Haddock snorted, shaking her head as she walked to the little group. "I'm sure that was the first thing on your mind after I told you I was pregnant."

"Well no. The first thing on my mind was... basically panic. But then it was excitement about this moment!" Hiccup winked at her and laughed when she playfully smacked his shoulder.

"What does Adri want?" Astrid asked, her thoughts turning to their daughter. "I honestly can't quite place her with a specific breed."

"She says she doesn't know." Hiccup took his wife's hand, the physical contact proving to be rather soothing. "But I'm confident she'll find the perfect dragon."

"Me too." Astrid kissed her husband on the cheek. "Did you want me to go pick her up so she can take a look at the foundations and tell us what she wants for her pen? I think she's in the records building- sorry, library; I will never get used to calling it that."

Hiccup breathed a laugh. "I'll do it. But thanks for the offer." he squeezed her hand before letting it go. "Love you, Astrid."

"Love you too!" Astrid replied cheerfully, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Yuck." Finn stuck his tongue out.

"Mark my words, you will be doing plenty of kissing in no time at all." Hiccup chortled. "And you might even initiate it."

"Yeah right." Finn rolled his eyes as Hiccup, still laughing, made his way down the path.

Xxx

Adrianna Miracle Haddock loved reading. Probably more than she loved sweets. Well maybe not quite that much. But she didn't give it much thought as she skipped to the records building, which she and Matilda, the new records keeper, insisted on calling the library. They thought that sounded like a much better name for a place full of books. She carried a small stack of books tied together with a string as she went, feeling very cheerful that morning. She had just finished a fascinating book and she couldn't wait to get her hands on another one.

"Ahh, Adrianna!" Matilda said (she always called Adrianna by her full name). "Back so soon?"

"Oh yes!" Adrianna replied, handing Matilda her stack of books. "Have you found anything new?"

"Heavens, girl, you mustn't read everything so fast or you'll have nothing left!" Matilda laughed as she placed the books back on their proper shelves, the bangles on her wrist jangling. "How do your parents feel about all this reading?"

"Daddy likes me to read to him. Mom says she does too but she always gets distracted." Adrianna shrugged. "It's okay. I like reading quietly better. I imagine what happens better that way."

"A good author will always make you feel like you're standing there and watching everything happen." Matilda smiled at the girl after placing the last book on the shelf. "And, uhh... do you tell your parents lots of stories like you do with me?" Matilda's smile widened as her excitement practically radiated off of her body. "I love your stories, Adrianna! And that's not a hint, by the way. If you happened to have a story you wanted to tell me, I would be very happy to listen."

Adrianna opened her mouth to reply when the door to the library opened, revealing her father. He smiled at his daughter as he entered.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, noting Matilda's slightly disappointed expression.

"Well, she was just about to tell me a story." Matilda said, her eyes wide and silently pleading with Hiccup to allow the girl to stay.

"Well I don't have to tell you one right now..." Adrianna looked down at her boots, shuffling her feet a bit. "If daddy needs me to come home."

"Oh no, I have time." Hiccup felt almost as excited as Matilda; Adrianna had been a bit shy about telling him and Astrid her own stories but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to sit in on one.

Adrianna looked up at him and then at Matilda, who was nearly shaking with excitement. She took a deep breath. "Once upon a time-"

Matilda let out an excited squeal and immediately scooted a child sized table into the center of the room. Adrianna smiled and got on top of it, waiting patiently for Matilda and Hiccup to sit down on the chairs adjacent to it.

"Once upon a time, the two greatest performers in the world: an escapologist, who could escape from any lock that was ever invented..."

Hiccup's heart leaped into his throat. Escapologist? Since Adrianna's bizarre reaction to the word years ago, he hadn't heard it from her mouth or anyone else's. But she stared at him pointedly... as if this story was one she wanted him to hear.

"...and an acrobat, who was so skilled it seemed she could actually fly, fell in love and got married." the girl clasped her hands in front of her face. "They performed some of the most incredible feats together anyone has ever seen. And people would come from miles around: kings! queens! celebrities! and spacemen!" she pointed to the ceiling with the last word.

Hiccup held back a laugh. Only last week, Adrianna had borrowed a very strange book about a traveling man from another planet and the two of them had been so fascinated with it, they read it to each other nonstop throughout the day. Astrid and Finn had scoffed at it, calling the story ridiculous and the idea of men from space absurd.

"Not just to see their skill, but also to see their love for each other, which was so deep that it was said that Gronckles would purr as they passed them, and Monstrous Nightmares would weep with joy. They moved into a beautiful old house at the edge of town, and in the evenings, they would walk and take the air. And each night, the children of the town would wait in anticipation, hoping for a glimpse of the shiny white scarf that the acrobat always wore, for then they knew that they had only to cry, "Tricks! Tricks!" and the great performers would instantly oblige with the most spectacular show, just for them." Adrianna looked pointedly at Matilda, her smile fading. "But although they loved each other, although they were famous and everyone loved them, they were sad."

Matilda put a hand to her heart and Hiccup bit his lip to keep himself from laughing in response to the woman's enthusiasm. Clearly this was the highlight of her week.

"'We have everything that the world has to offer,' said the wife, 'but we do not have the one thing in the world we want most. We do not have a child.'" the girl pulled out Mr. Gobcup, her rag doll with two replacement limbs that she liked to carry around as a good luck charm. "'Patience, my love,' the husband replied, 'Time is on our side. Even time loves us.'"

"Oh Adrianna!" Matilda breathed, sighing deeply.

Adrianna suddenly stepped down from the table and got down on her knees in front of Matilda, taking her hands and squeezing them. "But time is the one thing no one is master of. And as time passed, they grew quite old, and still they had no child. At night, they listened to the silence of their big, empty house, and they would imagine how beautiful it would be if it was filled with the sound of a child playing."

"Oh, Adrianna, this is very sad!" Matilda exclaimed, her smile replaced with a look of deep sadness.

Adrianna looked concerned. "Do you want me to stop?"

"Don't you dare!"

A glimmer of a smile passed over the girl before she turned a bit so that she could move her arms more freely. "Their sadness overwhelmed them, and drew them into ever more dangerous feats, as their work became the only place they could escape the inescapable tragedy of their lives! And so it was they decided to perform the most dangerous feat ever known to man! 'It is called,' said the husband, announcing the event to the tribal council, who had gathered to listen with bated breath." Adrianna stood up and raised an arm, as if she was announcing it to a large group of people rather than her father and friend. "The Burning Woman Hurling Through the Air with Fireworms in her Hair Over Scauldrons and Spiky Objects Caught by the Man Locked in a Cage and it is the most dangerous feat ever known to man!"

Matilda gasped dramatically and even Hiccup had to admit that he was quite interested in where this was leading.

"''It is our destiny.' said his wife, smiling sadly and slipping her hand into his. 'It is where the loneliness of life has led us.'" Adrianna stood, frozen to the spot, for a few seconds.

"Well... what happens next?" Matilda asked eagerly from her seat.

Adrianna remained frozen to the spot for a few seconds more. "I... I don't know. Not yet, anyway."

"What? But I... isn't there more? I mean... just a little bit more?" Matilda pleaded. She sighed when Adrianna gave her no answer. "Well... I suppose your father will want to be taking you home now."

"Yes... right, yes, I was going to... yes." Hiccup had nearly forgotten that he was standing in the room with them. His daughter definitely had a gift for storytelling. "Come on, Addie. We're going over to see if the measurements for your new dragons' pen are correct."

"Okay!" Adrianna said cheerfully, skipping over and taking her father's hand. "Goodbye, Ms. Matilda. I'll come by soon!"

As they walked hand in hand, Adrianna and Hiccup, true to form, were quiet preoccupied with each other. The father liked to give his daughter his undivided attention, partially because it was good for their relationship but mostly because just about everything she had to say fascinated him. As she grew older, Hiccup was pleased to see Adrianna developing into a very intelligent thinker. It served her well alongside "the biggest heart in the archipelago," which was something he truly believed that she had. Adrianna quite simply enjoyed talking to someone who liked storybooks almost as much as her. He had always enjoyed reading but his daughter's passion brought out his enthusiasm for made up stories. And as they walked together, they discussed their current favorite, which was the story of the traveling spaceman.

"Are you still talking about that?" Astrid asked as their voices carried over to the Haddock house.

"Oh yes!" Hiccup grinned at his wife. "Make fun of it all you want but Addie and I are praying that we find out there's a sequel."

"Thor help us all if there is. If I hear you shout out 'Geronimo!' while flying again, I will start pretending that you're not my husband." Astrid rolled her eyes and smirked at the pair.

"Oh come on, you wouldn't disown your own daughter, would you?" Hiccup put an arm around the girl, who giggled at yet another lighthearted spat between her parents.

"Don't tempt me." Astrid winked at Adrianna before turning to the empty space next to Toothless and Stormfly's pens. "Think that'll be big enough, Adri?"

"I think so. But we better not build anything quite yet. Maybe I'll take home a Typhoomerang." Adrianna skipped over to the flat land to inspect it some more.

Hiccup burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, but the mental image of you trying to train a fully grown Typhoomerang is too funny." his laughter died down a bit when his daughter gave him a withering gaze. "Not that I don't think you can. But the size difference would make you quite the pair."

"I guess... I'll leave the big dragon training to Finn." Adrianna said just as Finn emerged from the house. "He always tells big men what to do."

"That's because I'm going to be chief so I have to know what they're s'posed to do." Finn announced proudly.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, buddy." Hiccup patted his son on the shoulder.

"Shouldn't I practice? You always say practice makes perfect." Finn said, grinning up at his father.

"Sure but you're almost ten. So be almost ten. Then, when you're 31, you can be me." Hiccup pushed Finn toward the foundations. "I think the ground still needs some patting down. Can't have the dragons sleeping on an incline, can we?"

As Finn hurried over to the ground to make sure it was completely flat, Hiccup's heart leaped in his chest. The twins' tenth birthday was so close, he could almost feel the excitement in the air. His efforts to train his children in all things dragons were about to pay off. Just in time for Thawfest too. That was an even scarier thought.

But as he watched his children attempt to pat down the soil some more, he found his worries ebb away. They treated their preparations with care and attention to detail. So wouldn't they be the same when it came to training? Hiccup sighed contentedly as he put an arm around his wife. His family was about to change dramatically but he couldn't wait.