I took a deep breath and heaved a sigh. We were finished with the Speed Stingers. Everything was supposed to be okay.

So much for waiting on my dad and Astrid, I thought.

Without saying a word, I painstakingly stood, hoping Gobber was somehow wrong about both the Speed Stingers and Hookfang. I followed him outside, not daring to look up.

Gobber limped a few feet in front of me, his wooden peg leg sinking through the snow with each step forward.

"Snotlout's paralyzed for now," he said as he stopped in front of me.

I glanced around, wondering why in the world Gobber made me trudge through the snow when he had stated there were two Speed Stingers somewhere in Berk. Surely they'd see us here.

Hookfang was about fifteen feet in front of me, not moving. Some distance to my left were the great hall and silo. Just as Gobber had stated, there were two green dragons were standing guard in front of the silo door. After several minutes, I watched as three Vikings each took a roundabout path to get to the rear entrance of the great hall, avoiding the dragons.

The Speed Stingers watched the Vikings walk out of their sight, but never moved toward them.

I returned my attention to Hookfang. He still had that same puncture wound in his thigh, crusted over with frozen blood.

There had to be some sign he was alive, if for no other reason than hopeless optimism. Thinking back to Stormfly and Thornado, they both started to recover with spasmodic motions, followed by voluntary control of their breathing. But before those moments, I could only guess what was happening.

My first thought was to examine his midsection. Maybe there would be twitching muscles in his hips or where his wings met his back.

"Can you see any movement where his wings meet his back?" I asked Gobber.

"Hiccup, what are you talking about? He's dead."

I didn't respond to him, only edging toward Hookfang's snout. It didn't take long for me to notice the snow around him had a different look to it than the typical white I was used to. Fresh snow often had a powdery texture, and yet, the snow around Hookfang had an appearance closer to ice.

Did the snow refreeze around him? I thought.

Almost on a whim, I gently placed the back of my right hand on his snout. My eyes widened slightly as I realized his hide wasn't frigid.

Monstrous Nightmares had this irritating ability to coat themselves in fire. Sometimes they blasted lava from their mouths for just this purpose, and other times they simply heated up from some internal source.

Hookfang's warmth had to be from that internal source. He couldn't be dead.

"You're not gonna bring him back to life, you know," Gobber stated, breaking my concentration.

At soon as Gobber had finished his sentence, Hookfang's left leg snapped straight, nearly kicking Gobber's peg out from underneath him. Gobber yelped in surprise and jumped backward.

Immediately, I backed away from Hookfang's snout in case he couldn't control his breathing. With a deep rush, his flank expanded as he inhaled, and a second later, a bright reddish-orange and viscous flow emerged from his closed mouth. It spurted about two feet in radius around his head and hissed as it met the snow. Steam clouds billowed around Hookfang, exposing frozen ground underneath.

For a brief second, I thought about turning toward Gobber and saying something about suddenly acquiring the ability to raise the dead. But the opportunity passed just as quickly, so I let it disappear like the steam around Hookfang's mouth.

Hookfang's flank expanded again, and he went through the same motions, except halfway through his exhale, fire splattered out of his mouth with a coughing sound. His eyes flew open, and he soon regained control over his breathing. Large clouds of steam shot out of his snout as his chest heaved in and out.

He blinked a few times, a confused expression behind his eyes.

Just then, that same opportunity about my ability to raise the dead flashed in front of me, so I grabbed onto it.

"Now that I've resurrected Hookfang, I think I'll just go take care of those Speed Stingers."

I had taken two steps toward the great hall when Gobber's hand grabbed onto my coat.

"Oh, no you don't, wise guy."

"Gobber, did you see how they acted a few moments ago? They're just standing guard in front of the silo, not attacking anyone. When the lead dragon was running around, they were way more aggressive."

Those two Speed Stingers weren't acting like they were defending a territory. They seemed to be more observant and attentive, rather than tense. I thought they were simply trying to find a meal.

I almost added, I bet I could walk up to them, and they wouldn't move.

"Hiccup, I can't believe you think you've just become this... this," he paused, searching for the right words, "this... you know what I'm trying to say... dragon tamer. I don't want to have to take care of you being paralyzed now. You scared me to death the past few days worrying and doubting yourself."

Both of us fell silent. The air was completely still, and it felt like any sound nearby was muted.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you even survived."

Gobber immediately shrunk back a little after that comment, and his expression told me everything. Blunt Gobber had reappeared in a spectacular entrance.

I scowled and wheeled around in disgust, silently announcing my reinvigorated intentions and newly-acquired frustration with Gobber. He didn't say anything.

I strode toward the rear entrance of the great hall and walked in. A moderately-sized pile of fish and eels greeted me, and I stopped as soon as I had closed the door behind myself. I was still seeing red after Gobber's backhanded comment about wanting to just let me die, and I knew that attitude was suicide when approaching a dragon.

I took a few deep breaths with my eyes closed, focusing on how my chest and throat felt as they responded to the cold air. Slowly, the sounds in the great hall filtered into my ears. There was the large fire crackling in the center of the hall. There was the sound of footsteps. There was a low murmur as people exchanged conversations. There were random noises every so often as plates and mugs scraped against wooden surfaces.

Wait.

Glancing around, I saw several Vikings milling about, either eating, drinking, or lost in conversation. At my guess, there were twenty-five or thirty people here. We were returning to a normal life.

I grabbed a bucket and placed four fish inside. I walked out and approached the two Speed Stingers cautiously. They watched me with curious interest, but never tensed or moved away.

Once I was about ten feet away from them, I pulled two fish out of the bucket and placed them on the ground about five feet apart.

One of the Speed Stingers hunkered slightly, like it was investigating what I had placed in front of it. The other took a halting step forward.

They're looking for something to eat, I thought.

As soon as I had taken several steps backward, the two dragons simultaneously rushed the fish and tore into them, just like what I had witnessed when Toothless had slaughtered their leader.

I waited for the dragons to finish and make eye contact with me again. Briefly, I pulled a fish out of the bucket and then began walking backward. The dragons followed until I reached the wooden surface marking the descent to the coastline and our docks. The dragons stopped their approach but kept their attention on the bucket. They didn't seem to be interested in leaving Berk.

Immediately, an explanation for their behavior formed in my mind. These were stragglers, left behind after the pack of Speed Stingers fled from Toothless. They were probably looking for a new "pack" and a food source.

A frustrated groan escaped my throat as I glanced upward in resignation. I was certain Toothless wouldn't be amenable to having two Speed Stingers around after the events in the past few days.

Against my better judgment, I approached the two dragons and left the remaining fish on the snow in front of them, which they attacked. I turned toward home, passing the Speed Stinger corpses that a few Vikings were gawking over.

Near my house, the lone Speed Stinger's body was gone. In its place was a collection of reddish slush. I strode past that area, hoping it wouldn't grab a stranglehold over my attention. I opened the door and walked in, finding Toothless, Stormfly, and Thornado huddling around my dad and Astrid.

All three of the dragons inside the house glanced at me before turning their attention back toward the two motionless Vikings in front of them.

I gently placed my hand on Toothless' flank. He grunted softly and turned toward me.

"C'mon, buddy. I need your help," I whispered.

I led him out of our house, promising myself to trust him no matter the outcome of the next few minutes.