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Eret had hopped from his ship with the rope in hand, landing on the docks and helping another of his crew pull a ship forward until the front was barely tapping the docks. Once it was, they carefully secured the ship so it would not be pulled out to sea, and a gang plank was thrown over so they could begin unloading. Though, Eret waved and told his men to continue their work as he turned to the bulky green to red Rumblehorn that had landed ahead of them, seeing his shuffling feet and shifting wings, obviously eager to going elsewhere.

"Alright, alright Skullcrusher, hold your horses. I know you want to go." Eret chuckled, grinning towards his dragon companion as he strolled over, patting his head gently and earning a low rumble of affection and impatience. Eret could understand to want to head upwards, knowing they had been away from Berk for almost a year and obviously he was eager to see familiar faces. "Alright Skullcrusher, to the village!" Eret said as he pulled himself into the saddle, but he wasn't even fully on before Skullcrusher was running forward and taking flight, roaring in excitement to be able to be home and in familiar waters once more, earning a chuckle from the young Viking as he plopped onto the saddle.

For a moment, the Rumblehorn soared over the village, snorting softly and looking curious causing Eret to peak over his muscular physique and spotting the celebrations below. "Well, well, looks like we made it in time for celebrations." Eret remarked, before gesturing towards a hut. "There's the house Skullcrusher, but try to take it easy." Eret knew such words were wasted on Skullcrusher once the male dragon was in such a mood, sometimes even running and crushing things without meaning to. With a joyful growl, he dove downwards towards the hut with Eret gripping the saddle to avoid being thrown off before the Rumblehorn came down from a steep dive and slamming onto the ground, his weight and velocity leaning a small crater and causing the ground to rumble like a miniature earthquake.

Rolling his slightly, Eret carefully dismounted and nearly stumbled when he stepped onto the lip of the crater, but his hand caught Skullcrusher's neck for balance. "Well, everyone will definitely know we're here, thanks buddy." He grumbled but gave an "oof" sound as Skullcrusher bumped his head roughly into his side, causing Eret to fall flat on his butt and huff back towards his dragon.

Tags: Pretty much open XD

[Hiccup]

@eret

Hiccup Haddock The Chief Has Returned... He damn near jumped out of his skin at the rumbling crash that felt like it landed directly outside of his hut, throwing a one eyed look of alarm at Toothless, who's eyes were also stretched wide in shock, "what was that?!" He got to his feet and skipped stepps down the stairs, the black dragon close in tow as they made their way to the front door. He was cautious as he poked his head out, his eye widening when he spotted a pair of familiar faces, "Odin's ghost! Eret!" He chuckled at the sight of the man on the ground, reaching out a hand to help him up, "it's been nearly a year! You came back right on time, eh? Lots going on right now!" He couldn't help the excitement in his voice, regardless of what some people said or thought, Eret was a man that he trusted fairly deeply, and it was good to see him again, "did you have a safe voyage?" He turned to the dragon at his side and chuckled, resting a hand on his nose, "you look like you're doing well big guy, been taking good care of my friend?" He couldn't help the waver in his voice as he spoke to the enormous dragon, emotional for a lot of reasons as he put both arms around his large head, "it's good to see you both again." He turned back to Eret with a bright grin, "Astrid will be glad to see you've made it back alright, there's...Wow...A lot I guess I should catch you up on..." He was mostly referring to the festival, and every other thing that had happened, his and Toothless' own injuries taking the backseat to everything else. "Hiccup" - "Toothless"

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Not being overly surprised when he heard Hiccup's door open, he gave the Rumblehorn a stern look, earning a sort of rumbling laugh from the large dragon. "He has a funny sense of humor doesn't he." Eret said with a soft chuckle, shaking his head as he took Hiccup's hand and pushing himself up with the Chief's aide. He took a moment to dust his back off, allowing Hiccup to have his moment with Skullcrusher, hearing the waver in his friend's voice. Even Skullcrusher could feel the same emotions, letting out a soft crooning yet saddened sound, pressing his large head gently against the man's chest in a silent moment of comfort. Despite all his good times with Eret, the Rumblehorn greatly missed Stoick, a man who had shown him a fair bit of challenge and kindness all at once. They had become his family and there still seemed a void in his heart for the loss of the large Viking.

Eret placed a gentle but firm grip on Hiccup's shoulder, not failing to notice there had obviously been something going on in his absence but also offering some comfort. "We had a small skirmish with some pirates enroute to one village, but nothing we couldn't handle. Aside from that, the voyage went as normal and everything went relatively smooth." Eret assured him with his usual large grin, "Think I've definitely found my calling Hiccup, aside from wrangling dragons." He gently patted Skullcrusher on the upper part of his neck, earning an approving growl in response before the Rumblehorn approached Toothless letting out a warble of greeting and gently headbutting the Night Fury affectionately. But even he gave a loud sniff, noticing from the corner of his eye something off about his companion's tail, snorting softly when seeing the damage done.

"A lot is putting it mildly Hiccup." Eret's grin turned into a frown, gesturing to the eye patch he now bore and walking to the opposite of the Rumblehorn, patting Toothless on the head as he went by and gingerly picking up the dragon's finless tail. "What in the name of Thor happened to you two? Was Berk attacked? Or are the riders in trouble again and you need more help?" True that the man trusted Hiccup, especially him alongside Astrid, but he did sometimes worry for his new found close friend, giving him a look of concern with furrowed brows. Skullcrusher growled menacingly as well, obviously ticked that someone had harmed his family in his absence. "More like who I have to crush for harming you two." He grumbled, scrapping his claws on the ground as if preparing for a charge.

Tags: Hiccup

[Hiccup]

Hiccup laughed and nodded, patting the big dragon on the nose, "he always has, nice to see some things never change." He couldn't help his ridiculous grin when the dragon nudged into his chest, running a hand over his head and blinking away his tears, "I know...I miss him to...We all do..." He glanced over at Eret with a brighter grin as he pulled away, looking interested when he spoke of pirates, "pirates, eh? Wonder if they're the same group Dagur had issue with a few months back..." He shook the thought away, then focused back on Eret, giving him a friendly nudge, "It does seem to suit you! It's a shame you have to be gone for so long, but I'd rather see you less knowing you're happy than have you stuck here unhappy."

Toothless gave a playful trill when he was bumped, rather dramatically falling over and batting his front feet at Skullcrusher, waving his tail as he righted himself in time for Eret to come and run a hand over his head, Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "knew these questions were coming...Toothless was captured a few months back, by Viggo...I don't know if you ever got word of him." His face wrinkled in an angry scowl, "I thought Toothless was dead, it's a long story..." He rested a hand over the Night Fury's head, "we're alright, takes more than that to ground us, right Bud?" Toothless crooned in response and pushed his nose into his rider's hand, "Viggo's assembling titan wings...We don't know why..." He sighed and sunk down a little, until he was on the ground beside Toothless looking completely worn down, "everyone wants me to go to war...But I can't just send everyone to their deaths when I don't know what we're even up against...It's not as simple as that." He rubbed his hands over his face, "I'm tired, Eret..." He hadn't actively admitted that to anyone yet, even if he didn't intend to go into details.

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Eret listened intently to his friend, shifting to give Hiccup his full attention and could see Skullcrusher was likewise listening. The whole news of this made the older man clench his fists, unable stop the rage and shock overcoming him, mostly because he likely would have been down that road to causing so much stress for Berk. At one point, he almost did. But that had changed, he was changed, and to see one of the people who knew in such a state made Eret's heart ache. And for the first time in a while, Eret could see how tired his friend and chief looked, looking like a shell of his former self, fragile, small, no longer the man he had once remembered facing Drago and his beast of Hel.

"I'm afraid his name does not strike any bells Hiccup." Eret actually moved closer, kneeling before the smaller man and grabbing his shoulders with a firm grip. "Hiccup, regardless of what this Viggo character is planning you cannot allow him to break you down like this. He wants you broken, weak, feeling as if you can't do a thing for your people." Eret pointed out, trying to get the man to see reason, to hear his words. Truth be told, Eret was not exactly a man of great advice and dishing out uplifting speeches, but something was better than nothing, especially when he was seeing a friend so down like this. In fact, he had not seen Hiccup like this since the death of Stoick, even then he probably was worse than a couple of years ago.

With a scowl, he gripped Hiccup's shoulders just a bit tighter before standing, forcing the chief to his feet. "Hiccup listen to me. You've suffered from worse, you and Toothless. You will figure out a way to defeat this Viggo, without risking the lives of many on Berk." He told him in a firm tone, Skullcrusher giving a low growl to emphasize his point. "You and Toothless took on Drago and his Bewilderbeast! This man, these titan wings, they should be seen as no different!"

Tags: Hiccup

[Hiccup]

He paused when Eret took his shoulders, looking up to meet his eyes with his mismatched gaze as he swallowed. The man was right, and he knew that he was right, he was playing right into Viggo's hand by sitting here letting himself be broken like that, "I know, Eret, and all I'm doing is exactly what he wants me to do..." He closed his eyes, "it's easy to tell myself that...Harder to follow it..." He laughed a little, "and it's doubly hard when it feels like so many people are doubting me..." He shook his head, sighing softly.

He blinked and looked surprised when he was lifted to his feet, looking up at the man. The young chief let out a breathy sigh and nodded, "that's all I want, to do right by my people, to keep them safe, to keep everyone safe..." He gave Eret a sincere smile and clapped a hand against his shoulder, taking his hand in a firm squeeze, "I'll give him Hel, if I die trying, at least I died giving him Hel, eh?" He smirked, eyeing him, "so, find anything interesting on your travels?" He was eager to move past all this talk of war and the future, he wanted to focus on the now.

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"Hiccup, even if there a number of people that doubt you, there are still a handful of us that believe in you. Don't you ever forget that." Eret was making a point, even if he wasn't exactly subtle or one to sugar coat things. Honestly, in this case, sugar coating something wouldn't do Hiccup any good. Someone had to be straightforward and firm with things, and he even shot Toothless a serious look, "That goes double for you got it?" He said, more as a statement than a question towards the Night Fury.

Feeling satisfied, Eret allowed his arms to leave Hiccup's shoulders and he couldn't help his usual smug looking grin, "Nah, nothing you haven't seen before or that Berk hasn't. I think I got some spare scrap metal, parts, and other trinkets you could probably tinker with if you wanted. Just don't tell Astrid I'm enabling your crazy inventions." He said with a wink towards the end, knowing sometimes even Astrid could give him a look that made him think twice about doing something, or enabling Hiccup. "Although, me and the crew did manage to pillage some gold from the pirates, Odin only knows where it came from but might as well take advantage of taking it from them. Berk could probably use the extra funds if it keeps growing the way it is." He added, pondering of what all they had gotten.

Tags: Hiccup