Author's note: Thanks so much for reading this! Just to be clear, this story has nothing to do with my other one. That's all I have to say so... read, review, and enjoy the first chapter of Watchful!

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked after her friend had started staring off somewhere outside the Academy. Again.

"Huh? What?" He was brought back to his senses by her question.

"Hiccup, the class? The one you are supposed to be teaching us?" Fishlegs, too, was starting to get concerned for his friend. Hiccup usually loved teaching classes but, lately, he was getting distracted.

"Oh, right."

"Hiccup, are you okay? You have been doing that a lot lately."

"I'm fine, Astrid."

"If you are fine then why do you keep staring at random trees?" Snotlout asked.

"Maybe he expects it to turn into a new dragon that he can train!" Tuffnut answered.

"Hello, dragon. You can be my friend. All dragons are my friends. My leg fell off. I stare at random trees hoping that they will explode or make my boring, good-for-nothing life more exiting." Ruffnut said, trying to do her infamous Hiccup impression. She high-fived her twin then they hit helmets; their sort of a messed up handshake. Hiccup face palmed.

"Okay, Ruff, first, I don't sound like that. Second, for the millionth time, my leg did not fall off! Third, I wasn't staring at a tree and fourth, I don't think my life is boring at all!"

"What do you keep staring at then?" Snotlout asked.

"I though I… never-mind. Back to the lesson."

"Hiccup, it's been a long day. Maybe you should just go home and get some rest." Astrid interrupted, concerned for her friend.

"I'm okay, Astrid. Really," Hiccup said while rubbing his eyes. Astrid gave him a look and he got her point.

"Fine. Class dismissed. Toothless!" Toothless immediately bounded to his rider's side.

"Yeah!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut yelled in unison while they mounted Barf and Belch and flew off to go cause trouble somewhere.

Fishlegs and Snotlout soon followed the twins out of the Academy and Astrid walked over to Hiccup.

"Now that we are alone, I want to know what is going on with you." Astrid stood in-between Hiccup and Toothless so to ensure that her question was answered.

"I… I'm just tired. You know, with the recent war with the Berserkers and all?" Hiccup lied, hoping Astrid would believe him. Of course, she being the person who knows him best, saw right through his lie. She did, however, realize that he Hiccup didn't want to tell her. She respected that, for now, and let him pass to mount Toothless. He flew off, leaving Astrid alone with Stormfly in the Academy.

"There's something bothering him, isn't there, Stormfly? I doubt it had anything to do with the war, though." Astrid climbed on her dragon's back. Suddenly Stormfly became tense and her tail spikes shot up.

"What is it girl?" Astrid looked around but didn't see anything unusual. She thought she heard someone walking in the woods in the distance, but Stormfly calmed down and Astrid didn't think anything of it. She just assumed that it was a Terrible Terror or some other dragon.

She was dead wrong.

—

He watched as the boy flew out of the arena. He followed the boy and his Nightfury, knowing he had to complete his mission soon. He was traveling on foot, therefore almost loosing sight of the pair numerous times. But he is quick, moving through the shadows. The boy and his dragon landed in front of their house and went inside. He has a perfect view of the pair from his hiding spot in the woods. That is, until they went into the cover of their house, where he couldn't touch them. Just a few more days and the plan would be in motion. Oh, his master will be delighted! He couldn't wait to return home with the answer to their problems. He would be praised as a hero! But first, he had to carry out the seemingly impossible mission. It would be difficult, but he knew that he was capable. He was going back to his tent in the depths of the Berkian woods when he saw the boy and his dragon take off into the sky. He turned and ran back to the village, louder than he had hoped. If he wanted to get the boy, alone, this was a good a chance as any.

—

"You hungry bud?" Hiccup asked as Toothless jumped around his rider. Hiccup giggled and gave Toothless his dinner: a basket full of fish. He walked upstairs to his room and sat down at his desk. He was working on a new tail for Toothless that would allow them to turn more swiftly. He started working on the blueprint when Toohtless came up and nudged him. It was getting dark and Toothless was eager to go on their nighttime flight.

"I'm trying to come up with an idea for your new tail, bud. Don't you want to be able to turn better?" Toothless nudged him again and looked through the window.

"Alright Toothless, we can go flying." As they walked out of their house they were met by none other than Stoik the Vast.

"Hiccup. Where are you two going?" He asked gleefully.

"Just going on our evening flight. I was trying to draw up some sketches for a new tail for Toothless, but he insisted." Toothless wiggled about, getting more eager to go flying with his best friend. Stoik laughed at his son's dragon and stepped aside to let them pass.

"Be careful son."

"When am I not careful?" Stoik opened his mouth to speak but Hiccup interrupted. "Don't answer that."

He mounted Toothless and they flew off into the night with such speed that never ceased to amaze Stoik.

—

"Where to, bud?" Hiccup asked Toothless as they lazily flew around Berk.

Toothless just kept flying, not wanting to go to a specific destination. He just want to fly. Hiccup shrugged and opened Toothless's tail with his prosthetic as they flew through the sea stacks surrounding Berk.

Hiccup usually loved flying, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Something just didn't feel right. He knew that Toothless would want to keep flying, but Hiccup had to stick to his gut feeling.

"Okay, bud, let's go home."

Toothless whined and reluctantly flew back to the village. They landed in front of his house and Hiccup froze. He saw a pair of eyes staring at him from a small distance away. Toothless saw them too and started growling. The eyes and their owner acknowledged that they had been spotted and quickly retreated, Hiccup and Toothless closely following. Hiccup saw somebody running into the woods and Toothless shot a plasma blast at him. The blast missed it's target but awakened some nearby villagers. As they came out of their houses to see what all of the commotion was about they saw Toothless and Hiccup racing into the woods. But after what, they did not know. Stoik, too, saw his son and his dragon racing into the woods.

"Hiccup?" He yelled to his son as he and Toothless stood at the edge of the woods. Toothless was growling in the direction of the deepest part of the woods while Hiccup lust glared into them, trying to make out any signs of movement.

"Hiccup? What's going on?" Stoik ran up to his son, concerned for the sudden outburst. When he didn't get a response he tried again.

"Hiccup!"

"What? Oh, sorry dad. Toothless…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Toothless got spooked by… a herd of Terrible Terrors. They went into the woods. But they're gone now so…" Hiccup lied, not wanting to reveal what he really saw with most of the village watching.

Hiccup and Toothless went back to their house and Stoik told the crowd of curious Vikings to do the same. Hiccup went upstairs to his room and lay in his bed, Toothless shooting his own bed with fire before curling down and going to sleep. Hiccup thought to himself about the strange man they had encountered.

Who was that guy? Why was he watching me? Why did he run away when we confronted him?

The questions swam through his head as he drifted off into a light, unsettled sleep.