As soon as Toothless and I approached within fifteen feet of the two Speed Stingers, the air around us changed. It was already cold, but the air seemingly became much heavier, and I felt like it was a struggle just to breathe.

Toothless growled at the two dragons, hunkering slightly so they could see he was ready to attack.

I trust you, buddy, I thought as I removed my left hand from his flank.

Toothless glanced to his right for a beat, then returned his glare toward the two Speed Stingers. He took a step forward and deepened his growl.

The two dragons simultaneously stepped backward, keeping their respectful distance from Toothless. The Speed Stinger on Toothless' right glanced around itself. Its motion wasn't purposeful like what I had seen previously when the herd of dragons was trying to exert its control over Berk. This dragon's eyes were wide, and its herky-jerky motions were a sign of fear.

The dragon's not in control of its surroundings, I realized.

From experience, I knew dragons would most likely lash out if they felt they had lost control over what was around them or if they couldn't find an escape. In anticipation of the Speed Stinger attacking, I moved away from Toothless, giving him space.

The panicked Speed Stinger roared at him, its pitch a little higher than what I had remembered. Toothless simply stood his ground, still in his threatening pose. Both the Speed Stingers soon began popping their jaws together, each time creating a loud snapping sound. The dragon on Toothless' left let out a deep hiss, droplets of saliva spraying from its throat.

Just like when I had encountered that first Speed Stinger on Johann's boat, I felt like something wasn't right about this situation. The Speed Stingers in front of me weren't willing to relinquish the food source they had found, and Toothless was glowering at them, waiting for them to attack or leave. It seemed like time was frozen, the three dragons locked into this moment and unwilling to yield.

Toothless broke the moment, stepping toward the dragons. The panicking Speed Stinger responded by turning to its left and trying to get away from the Night Fury in front of it.

In my preoccupation, I didn't realize I had blocked the dragons' direct line toward the docks. The Speed Stinger had taken two steps to run away from Toothless and then screeched when it saw there was a Viking obstructing its path. The dragon quickly raised to its full height in surprise, locking eyes with me.

I tried to leap to my left, which would have opened a path to the docks, but my right knee gave out from the panic that was surging through my body. Instead, I collapsed in the snow with a yelp, unable to move anywhere. My arms and legs batted against the snow without gaining any traction.

Suddenly, a hollow explosion sent a shock wave rocketing through my chest. It was followed a second later with another similar report.

I stopped moving, the realization of what had happened taking over my body before my mind could figure out what was going on.

I didn't need to see it to know. Toothless had killed these dragons. He growled as the Speed Stingers' final moans reached my ears. Within seconds, they stopped, leaving only Toothless' rumbling.

It was foolhardy to bring Toothless out here, but I wasn't sure if there was any other choice. Those two dragons would eventually meet Toothless if they were going to integrate with the other dragons here, and I was certain it wasn't going to be pretty. Maybe by some remote chance he'd have tolerated them. That was what I was hoping for.

Slowly, I stood back up, having to continually remind myself not to be angry with the outcome. Toothless was protecting me, just like the past few days.

Brushing the snow off my body, I glanced toward the Speed Stingers. Both of them were motionless, their chests torn open the same way. Had the scene not been so gruesome, I would have been impressed with Toothless' accuracy in shooting fireballs.

"You certainly made that look easy," Gobber observed from behind me.

Just before I replied, his comment earlier about my survival grabbed onto my mind. My mouth was open, but in a rare moment of foresight, I shut it. Something stupid was about to come out.

I turned toward Gobber and shrugged, trying to silently deflect his praise without tipping him off as to what I was thinking.

"Don't be so modest, Hiccup."

I stayed mum.

After what felt like an exceedingly long and awkward silence, I finally asked, "Where was the first Speed Stinger buried?"

Gobber looked at me blankly for a second, then responded, "You mean the one from Johann's boat?"

I nodded.

He shrugged. "I'm taking these dead dragons west of the yak pasture. At the end of the next north wind, we'll burn them."

West of the yak pasture, I thought. There was something else there that could be burned. For a brief moment, my mind scrambled, trying to connect that location with something. My eyes brightened as soon as I had found it.

"Can we burn the hákarl too?" I asked, trying to exaggerate my disdain for it.

"Dragon carcasses only," Gobber replied without missing a beat.

With that, he grabbed the lower legs of one of the recently-killed Speed Stingers and began dragging it west, walking backward and checking his direction every few steps. The dragon's body created a deep furrow in the snow as it trailed behind Gobber.

I followed suit and gathered the ankles of the other dragon carcass. Its skin was still warm to the touch, which was unsettling to me. I took two steps to my left, pulled for a second, then stopped due to the Speed Stinger's weight coupled with the snow underneath its body.

These dragons were pure muscle. They weren't much taller than me, maybe a foot or two at the most, but I guessed this Speed Stinger outweighed me by at least fifty pounds. They really were built for speed.

Toothless was watching me with an expression that said, What are you doing? He stayed rooted to his spot, sitting on his haunches with no apparent interest in helping whatsoever.

The sound of snow crunching under a noticeable limp met my ears. I turned around to find a slightly panting Gobber trudging toward me.

"Hiccup, why didn't you follow me?" he asked.

I impulsively glanced at the dead dragon to my right and mumbled, "Too heavy."

Gobber rolled his eyes as he grabbed the dragon's ankles and began dragging it into the furrow from the first one.

"All that time in the forge, and you still can't lift anything?" he asked as he hauled the carcass westward.

I heaved an exasperated sigh as Gobber finally shifted his focus to relocating the Speed Stinger's body.

"Let's go home, bud," I said to Toothless.

I began trudging back home. After a few steps, Toothless' footsteps reached my ears. Once we reached our house, I opened the door, and he loped inside.

Toothless paused for a beat, his body halfway inside the house. I was mindlessly walking forward, grateful we were finished with the Speed Stingers when I bumped into his back right leg. He grunted in mild surprise.

I looked at Toothless curiously. He never stopped like this when entering.

His body was blocking my view of what was inside, and naturally, my first thought was another Speed Stinger had found its way into our house.

Toothless plodded indoors, which nullified my thought about yet another Speed Stinger.

As soon as I walked in, I froze in shock. My dad was sitting at the table, looking more like a disheveled wreck than a chief. He was breathing heavily, a few strands of saliva dripping from his open mouth. His back was hunched over, and it seemed he was using the table to support his upper body weight.

But no matter. He was alive.