Seeking an Audience

"That's got to be the biggest skink I've ever seen." Fuli's comment was made from further back in the crowd. She could see Toothless and Hiccup just fine despite hanging back, but the young trainee hadn't been sure what to think when she'd seen them make their entrance. Based on what she was hearing, though, the other members of the Enchanted Suns camp weren't so eager to welcome the two. Her ears fell back a little as she considered why. The color of his... skink did strike her as odd. Skinks were supposed to be very colorful, but Toothless was not. No wonder some thought he might belong to the Cursed Thorns. Hiccup himself was strange, too. He had a leg made of metal! That was enough to draw Fuli closer. She crouched down and started to weave her way through the crowd. Emerald orbs were focused on her target, and when she was near enough to the front she hopped over a shorter animal and made her presence known.

Up close, Toothless was pretty imposing. He was bigger than she was! Hiccup, too, was kind of lanky and tall. So taken in by that fact was Fuli that she didn't manage to say anything right away. Instead, she played witness to more Enchanted Sun murmuring. From what she could immediately hear, it sounded as though they still didn't trust the human and his friend.

"It sounds fishy to me," one man murmured. An animal added something along the same lines. Fuli's claws were rapped against the ground in light little repetitive motions until she decided enough was enough. If no one else was going to say anything in Hiccup's defense, or at least try to plea a case, then maybe she could. Who would really listen, though? She was just a trainee. Her opinion might not mean all that much when it came down to it, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to offer her own two cents.

"Hey!" Fuli's call rose above the others. Then things quieted down. "If he was a Cursed Thorn, don't you think he would've attacked by now? Him and his skink haven't even drawn a weapon or anything." Her paw rose from the ground and gestured to the two. Yes, Hiccup and Toothless did look unusual. They didn't look like the standard sorts of folks that came around the Great Forest. Nonetheless, Fuli wanted them to have a chance.

"Why don't we give him a chance? Maybe the king and queen will know what to do. I could even take them to queen Sarabi," Fuli volunteered. Maybe that would earn her some brownie points. That ought to get her out of a couple of chores, at least.

"WHAT IN TH' NAME AY ALL THA'S HOLY IS GOIN' ON HERE?"

The voice that thundered across the forest preceded its source by a few moments as Fergus, the Bear King and General of the Enchanted Suns made his way towards the gathered group. His wooden leg didn't slow him down any, and his large stature only added to his presence as he stalked forward, eyes glinting. "Out ay mah way! Let me through!" he ordered, a bit needlessly as the crowd gave way to the oncoming juggernaut, not wanting to get run over, or draw the ire of the clearly riled up General.

"Now, what's th' big idea, lettin' loose wi' a big ball ay fire sae close tae a forest?" he demanded before staring at Hiccup and breaking out into a grin. This wasn't the first time he'd clapped eyes on Hiccup and Toothless, and they'd parted ways on good terms, something he'd never thought he'd be able to say about a Viking. "Well, look who it is! Tell me, laddie, what brings ye an' yer big, scaly mukker to these parts?" he exclaimed, striding forward to clap a meaty hand on Hiccup's shoulder, offering Toothless a grin and wink, the dragon's transgression forgotten for the moment.

Large ebony body rippled with each gurgle of laughter as the immense dragon voice out his amusement through a series of reptilian sounds. Eyes were no longer agitated and whilst Hiccup struggled through clasping his mouth, he pushed onto the dragon with all of his might whilst also trying to watch the guards who at this point wasn’t sure if they were qualified for this. It was a shame, this cat didn’t have to stick up for them and Toothless had to blow it by shooting out a plume of plasma. The burning smell still lingered within the air and thankfully the Night Fury aimed away from the trees, probably on purpose. Suddenly the loud and rather inflamed sound of a burly man roared through the trees like that of an angry bear, Hiccup withdrew from Toothless, the tone familiar as he stared past the grunts.

Toothless too perked up, the dragon peered with wide and curious eyes, his thick tail thumping against the ground ever so slightly as if he already recognizes the voice. As the man parted into sight, Hiccup froze for a moment because what materialized was that of his father, Stoick, the resemblance uncanny but and his stared like a deer in head-lights. Toothless’s jaw lowered and the pair was frozen before reality came knocking. This man wasn’t his father, his dad was dead. Despite that, fondness still touched his eyes and whilst he gawked in surprise.

“King Fergus?” he prompted as he was suddenly shook with great force, even the way he addressed him was eerily similar. Fergus had a way of giving him a dose of nostalgia; he resembled his dad so much it almost hurt to see him. Toothless as more than happy to see the big burly man, his teeth sheathed as he excitedly began gumming his wooded leg and letting out deepened barks of glee. “I’m so glad to see you!” Hiccup laughed boyishly, trying his best to keep Toothless at bay but the dragon wasn’t having any of that, he was far too happy to see Fergus.

“Like your… Cadet said, I wanted to speak to the leader and possibly establish a sort of peace… and honestly I wanted to know more about this whole war because I haven’t heard much on it in Berk,” admitted the boy. Luckily with the arrival of Fergus, the guards were calmed at the sight and stopped giving him such a hard time. If Fergus was here… That meant Merida too? He did miss the fiery haired scot and Toothless seemed quite fond as well. “Do you think I could speak with them?” asked the boy, his mood brightened at the sight of the man.

Well, if the way Hiccup and Toothless reacted was any indication, then it was true. Fergus really did know the two. Seeing Toothless gum his wooden leg was a bit gross, though, even for Fuli. She cringed a bit at the sight until Fergus affectionately clapped the dragon on the side of his neck. Okay, even she had to admit that that was kind of sweet. Not that she'd say as such out loud.

Her eyes lit up when Fergus told her to go inform Sarabi of Hiccup and Toothless' desire to see her. Oh, yes. It was her that got to inform the queen. Not one of the guards, but her. A mere cadet was given the chance to shine, at least a little, and she'd make sure others remembered that at another point. Puffing her chest out a bit and letting a smug little smile adorn her face, the cheetah nodded. The General wouldn't be disappointed. Not if she could help it.

"You got it," Fuli said. She flashed her little look around to the guards who had previously doubted Hiccup and Toothless' legitimacy, and with that Fuli turned and started to trot back the way she'd come. Once she was past the crowd, Fuli picked up her pace and ran forward. If she were Sarabi, then where would she be at that time of day? Perhaps more toward the center of the grounds? It was a reasonable thought, Fuli told herself, but as she ran she tried to keep an eye out. The faster she went, the more that she saw as she liked to tell herself. That wasn't always one hundred percent true, as she did miss things now and again, but for the time being? She felt confident that she'd be able to pick out the queen even at that pace.

"Queen Sarabi?" Fuli called. So far, she wasn't seeing her just yet. It wasn't that fact that prompted her to slow her pace, though. Instead, it was just a desire to rest for a moment. "Your highness, are you here?"

Oh, there she was. That was a relief, because Fuli would have hated to return to Fergus and Hiccup without the queen. Though momentarily thrown off by the queen's scowl, Fuli collected herself quickly enough. The question wasn't surprising. Toothless had probably caused quite the stir. Fuli was quick to nod her head in response.

"That's what I came to get you for," Fuli answered. "The dragon's rider, Hiccup I think he said he was called? He wants to see you. General Fergus is with him." The formalities aside, Fuli thought she was doing pretty well for herself in that moment. She couldn't just leave the topic there, though. As long as she was thinking about it, she thought that Sarabi deserved to know that Fergus was aware of who Hiccup was. That would make things a bit easier to manage, she thought.

"The General knows him. He said he wants to talk and establish some kind of peace? It sounded important," Fuli explained. "They don't seem dangerous, though the dragon is... kind of a prankster." For lack of a better word, 'prankster' seemed to fit the best. That was what she'd thought of Toothless as after he'd fired a shot into the air like he did. That aside, he wasn't bad. Just humorous in his own way. That said, Fuli hadn't necessarily appreciated getting the fur scared off of her by his firework-like shot.

"I was asked to bring you to them. If you're willing to meet with them, that is."

Even though Hiccup’s smile stretched wide, he wanted to maintain a level of formality with the whole thing. Even if majority of the guards had dispersed towards their posts, he needed to take this seriously. Fergus seemed jolly as ever and as bellowing as he remembered, it was a welcoming reality to behold since war seems to change people. With battle came loss and death, if he could help it he wanted to avoid any more chaos. Hiccup couldn’t trust anything else to deliver a message, only his presence could instill the emotion he wished to convey.

“Yeah, of course… I only had to apologize five times for Toothless scaring people on my way here,” he chuckled but there was a tired tinge to his voice. He had been traveling for a while; both he and Toothless were fatigued. A loud echo of a slap uttered forth from Fergus’s meaty palm atop Toothless’s thick neck. Drool cascaded in heaps from his gummy mouth and he dramatically rolled atop his spine in response to the man, his throat gargling pleasant noises of happiness. Drool splashed on Hiccup who recoiled unhappily, so much for making a good appearance for the leader. Light forest-hued eyes turned towards the feline who quickly sprinted off to fetch this ‘Queen Sarabi’, the chief note the name down quickly and straightened upwards.

“Come on, buddy you should get off the ground like that,” he nudged the onyx dragon with his metal appendage as Toothless writhed around with his tongue lolled forth. He looked nothing like the grouchy beast that landed just moments ago. Left with Fergus, he decided small talk could be exchanged and he was curious about Dunbroch in this situation.

“So has your people aligned with this side?” he prompted, Hiccup wasn’t intending on joining the war… He wanted simple peace if fate would allow it but if Fergus joined perhaps this enemy was worse than he thought. “How’s Merida doing.. by the way?” he added knowing the fiery haired princess wasn’t one to sit idly by. She likely joined alongside her dad.

Hiccup would have spoken more with Fergus if not for the sight of a regal feline happening upon the scene. For a moment Hiccup wasn’t sure who this was but her tone was distinguished and her posture dignified. This was the Sarabi and she didn’t seem very pleased… At least to Hiccup. Her tone was wise and he agreed with everything she pointed out, it reminded him of his mother chiding him for his foolishness. Dropping to his severed leg, the spring creaking with the kneel the Chief ducked his head with somewhat of a refined bow.

“Your majesty,” he greeted as Toothless darted his eyes a bit nervously before too lowering his massive skull, his wings coming forth in that of a dramatic display of respect. “I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Chief of Berk and this is Toothless,” he said, eyes not leaving the ground as he gestured towards the dragon. “I apologize on his.. behalf, your guards weren’t willing to let us through so he grew impatient since us being here was important… I don’t justify his actions,” he spoke eloquently but it was clear his tone was uncertain even if it didn’t tremble. Shooting a glare towards his dragon, he nodded sharply which caused Toothless to hang his head fully in shame now. His black appendages that framed his head lurched downwards and his wide mouth creased open to let out a low and apologetic sound. It was clear they were young; Hiccup wasn’t used to such politics yet.

“We certainly have no intention of war… I came here to talk if you’ll still allow me to explain myself and discuss a possible peace,” he mentioned no alliance just yet; he wasn’t even sure what this war was about yet. He was confused and this furthered his ignorance.

It was with great pride that Fuli followed Sarabi back to where Fergus, Hiccup, and Toothless lay in wait. Once more, she walked with her head held high and a little prance in her step. She'd done well. Sarabi had said so herself, and Fuli wasn't going to be forgetting that any time soon. Soon enough, her paws guided her and Sarabi both to the boys in waiting and she settled herself not far from the queen. She wasn't near enough to be intruding on Sarabi's personal bubble, but wasn't far enough to miss out on what was being said. She figured that, since she'd been the first one to speak up in Hiccup's defense, she should be around to hear what was being said. Maybe the logic was a bit invalid, but hey. Fuli was running with it.

Sarabi wasn't playing around, it seemed. Ever the regal lion, depicted her point clearly. Fuli watched with quiet awe at what happened next. Hiccup was down on one knee, metal leg creaking a bit as he moved, and apologetic toward what had happened. He was making his case rather well, Fuli thought. There was no way Sarabi could reasonably turn down the idea of hearing him out. Besides, Fergus was speaking on Hiccup's behalf as well... or, at least, she assumed he would be. The man was remaining quiet for the time being. Perhaps that was for the best.

Slowly, Fuli shifted to sit and let her tail curl around her paws. Her emerald gaze flicked from her leaders to Hiccup and Toothless, then back again once more. Things sure did seem like they were taking an okay route. She couldn't imagine how things could possibly get turned on their head. Still, she elected to remain quiet as well for at least a little longer. Honestly, though? She was rooting for Hiccup to succeed. She barely knew the human and his dragon, but they seemed earnest enough in their intentions. That was enough to get her on their side.

Maybe they'll want to ally with us, Fuli thought at last. Having a dragon like Toothless on their side would be cool. Not to mention Hiccup. He seemed like he knew what he was doing.