AN: Each volume will be told from a different character's POV. Volume one will be from Hiccup's POV.

Chapter One:

It's late.

I should probably be at home, but instead I'm at Gobber's. Not that that's anything new. If Dad's really worried he'll come looking for me. But I do this every night: go straight from school to Gobber's where Toothless is usually waiting. Not today, though. He got a cold this morning.

Sneezing dragon + Wooden houses = Disaster!

I usually stay here at the shop until closing time, and then go home. Dad's usually either in bed or buried in grading and paperwork by then. He and I exchange "hellos" and "goodnights" and I'll go to bed and start over in the morning.

It's routine at this point, really, so there's no reason he'd stop by. Therefore I'm free to lounge on the cot Gobber's put in the back room for me and read my books in peace. Yes, I have a sleeping cot of my own at the shop. I would say I've never, ever, fallen asleep and accidentally spent the night here, but I'd be lying. Again, that's sort of become a regular routine for me, so no alarm caused to Dad if I snooze off. I'm not feeling particular tired right now, though, so doesn't look like this is going to be a sleepover night.

I turn the page and sigh, bored. I'm only half way through the first chapter, so I'm not expecting for the story to be gripping yet…still it's dark. It's quiet. There's nothing to do but read. I'm bored.

Most nights Merida will stay in the back room with me and we'll talk, or play board games, or spar. Her relationship with Aunt Elinor is just slightly better than mine with Dad, so she has few reasons to want to go straight home after school. Either that or she feels its her cousinly duty to keep me company. I try not to think like that though. The idea that I'm the reason she hangs around Gobber's most nights somehow makes all this worse. Not that I could do anything to change her mind. She made it her personal mission to look after me since we were toddlers, and I appreciate it, but still feel guilty about it.

Her favorite program is on tonight, though, so she's watching TV behind Gobber's counter, and I'm back here reading. It's better than being reminded what a disappointment I am every five minutes, but I still wish there was something else I could do. I would make adjustments to my weapons, but I've already used up all of Gobber's scrap metal for this week. I would go flying on Toothless, but again he's under the weather. Heck, I'd take a late night stroll through the woods if I was feeling adventurous, or crazy.

It's getting close to finals week, which means there's lots of stress, anger, and despair seeping through town, and that means more Grimm. I can handle the smaller ones on my own, but the big guys have been lurking around lately, and they are a different story altogether.

Merida could probably take them, but again she's watching TV, and she already does enough for me through out the day. I don't need her being my bodyguard too.

I turn the page again. The front door of the shop rings from downstairs and I hear a loud voice calling.

"Well, well, well! Looks like there is a dust shop open this late boys!"

"Dust shop?" Gobber huffs. "This is a weapons shop. I don't sell dust! I sell the things they go in!"

"Oh, but you have dust on hand don't you?"

"For testing purposes yes, but not-"

"Perfect, give it here!"

I close my book and sit up on my cot. This sounds like a robbery.

"I'm sorry?" Gobber asks.

"The dust, give it here. And all the weapons on the top shelf, those look exquisite."

"An' do it now!" a rough voice commands.

"Now, now, Eight Ball!" the first thief says as I reach for my sword and shield and begin sneaking downstairs.

"That's no way to treat-AH!"

A loud BOOM trembles the air, followed by the clashing of weapons and screeches as the door bursts open and people stumble out of it. I race the rest of the way down the steps and find the shop covered in ice from one of Merida's dust arrows.

"HICCUP!" Gobber calls as he struggles to free his hook hand from said ice sheets. "Yer crazy cousin done it again! Go get her before she gets herself killed! I'll join you in a minute!"

"On it!" I answer as I rush through the door, checking to make sure my vest is in place before charging outside. I can see some of Merida's wisps slowly starting fade and rush after them, hoping to catch up to her and the thieves before the wisps disappear entirely.

They haven't gone that far, only to the town plaza a couple blocks away. There are about five thieves, led by a blond headed man in a yellow trench coat, a bow tie, a top hat, and a triangle shaped eye patch. Merida is busy shooting dust bolts at them, per the usual. But she's using ice again, which is not usual because she usually prefers fire I shake my head as on of the thieves begins chopping with an axe to free his frozen feet. She's probably run out of fire dust and didn't remember to get some more. One of these days she's going to run out of dust bolts entirely in the middle of a fight.

The leader charges towards her, holding a large cane over his head, while all the others (except the one with cold feet, litterally) follow him hold up giant clubs, axes, crow-bars, etc. I look around to see what I have to work with and find a pile of bricks next to a construction site. I engage my semblance, wave my hand, levitate the bricks, and send them flying towards the raging criminals, knocking them off their feet. Merida shoots another ice bolt at them, freezing them to the ground.

As they struggle to get free, Merida and I both take our opportunity to apprehend them, and rush forward. Something sweeps at our legs, knocking us off our feet.

"Oi!" Merida screeches in an annoyed voice as I look about for what it was that hit us. A tall man dressed entirely in leather is standing a few feet behind us, holding up his hands to catch two boomerangs, that apparently knocked us over.

The leader of the thieves in the yellow trench coat suddenly shatters the ice, laughing maniacally as he stand, blue flames spouting from his palms.

"Oh, boy, oh, boy!" he chuckles. "A real, full fledged huntsman! How crazy is this boys?"

The rest of his crew groan and begin to slowly shuffle away from the huntsman that is now walking calmly toward them. As he draws closer I can see a set of rabbit ears spouting from his head.

A faunus huntsman!

I always knew they existed, but I'd never actually seen one before.

The leader of the thieves pulled out a cane/gun, points it at the huntsman and fires a shot. The huntsman throws one of his boomerangs at the shot, redirecting it back towards the thieves, sending them flying two feet backwards, He calmly catches it as it returns to him, waving the other hand at the smoke formed from the shot. All the thieves, including their now-less-than-cheery leader begin slowly backing away from him. A whooshing sound comes from above and an airship lands behind the thieves. They all rush inside the open hanger and the ship takes off before any of us can reach it.

The huntsman throws his boomerang at the ship. Merida shoots a fire bolt (so she didn't run out!) I use my semblance to launch the brick at it, but it's to far gone for us to stop it. Not so far that the leader of the thieves can't lean out and cheer:

"So long peanut gallery! HAhahahahahahahahahahaa!"

"Mm," the huntsman mumbles to himself as he stores his boomerangs the way.

"Oh, will ye look at this, cous!" Merida cheers as she races towards me and throws an arm around my shoulder, threatening to knock my vest off kiltered. I scramble to keep it in place.

"We just fought alongside a real huntsman. Mum's gonna be sooo mad!" she cheers a little too gleefully before she addressed the huntsman. "So, how'd we do?"

The huntsman turns to us, with a cranky look on his face, grabs us both by the scruff of our necks, again threatening to push my vest off the wrong way, causing me to hold my breath the whole way he drags us to the inn near the plaza. He shoves us into the lobby, pushes us into a couch, and crosses his arms.

"And what were you two ankle biters doing out there?" he demands to know.

"He robbed our uncle's store!" Merida insists.

"You don't have any uncles," the huntsman counters.

"How do you know?" Merida challenges.

"You are Merida Dun'Broch. You are Hiccup Haddock," He points to both of us with his boomerang. "You are cousins through your mothers, who have no brother. Both of your mothers married only children, therefore you do not have any uncles."

"She means Gobber Belch," I quietly explain. "He's a close family friend so we call him 'uncle.'"

"Oh, that explains it," the huntsman rolls his eyes. "He would let a couple of kids who are still wet behind the ears to go after a crazed thief, murderer, embezzler, and nuisance."

"What are ye' trying to say?" Merida all but screeches. "And how to ye' know so much about our business."

"That's beside the point," the huntsman sigh as he begins to pace in front of us. "The point is you two put yourselves into serious danger."

"Oh, we deal with their type all the time," Merida shrugs.

"I doubt that. And that doesn't make it any better," he continues pacing. "Since I had to be occupied protecting you too, he's gotten away."

"We can handle ourselves," Merida crosses her arms. "And I can find him for you if you want, I managed to-"

"I don't need anymore help from you two!" the huntsman thunders.

"She really can find them, though," I quietly speak up. "Her sembl-"

"I don't care what her semblance is!" he sighs loudly. "If it were up to me I'd send both of you home immediately and have a serious talk with both of your fathers about keeping a closer eye on you."

We both tense, me more than Merida.

"However," the huntsman continues. "There is someone here who wants to have a word with the two of you."

He gestures his head behind us, and we both turn to find a huge man standing behind us. And I do mean huge! I used to think my dad was the biggest man alive, but I'm second-guessing that now. He has a long grey beard, tattooed arms, and twinkling blue eyes.

"That was quite a show you two put on out there!" He slaps both of us hard on the back, hard enough that I readjust my vest while trying to regain the breath he literally knocked out of me.

"Merida and Hiccup were your names, yes?" He asks as he makes his way around the couch, and pulls up a stool in front of us. "I'm assuming both of you go to Berk Academy, seeing as both of your fathers work there."

"Yes…" I answer, suspicious of what this man wants.

"Do you two know who I am?" he asks as he rummaged through his pockets and hold his hand out to us. "Candy cane?"

"No thank you," I politely decline.

"No idea who your are," Merida answers.

"Bunny, did you not give me an introduction!" the big man turns to the huntsman.

"Not my job," the huntsman mutters.

Then it hits me.

"Professor Bunnymund? You teach at Beacon Academy."

"Finally caught up, did you?" the huntsman arches one eyebrow.

I turn back to the big guy sitting in front of us. "Does that make you-"

"Headmaster North, at your service!" he forcefully shakes out hands.

"Headmaster?!" Merida shrieks in horror.

"Indeed. You two showed a lot of skill and gumption out there!" Headmaster North cheers.

"And stupidity," Professor Bunnymund mutters under his breath.

"Ach! Just teenage gumption, Bunny! They'll grow out of it," North waves him off.

"You sure, mate? Because you never did."

"That's beside the point," North turns back to us. "I suppose you two want to become huntsman, eh?"

"Absolutely!" Merida nods.

"Um…yeah," I agree.

"I guessed it at once by the way you jumped into the heart of the battle! No questions asked! That's what I need at my school-"

"Your school!?" we both ask, astounded.

"Well, yes, what did you think I wanted to talk to you two about?"

"You want us to go to Beacon?" I question, not believing my ears.

"But of course! That's the whole reason I came to the Archipelago, to recruit students. You actually made my job easier for me. I was going to have to go to Berk Academy, look at all the students, pick out the best of the best, but now I already know who I want! Real life fighting skills are much better than classroom duals, I tell you."

"You hear that, Hiccup!" Merida cheers. "We're going to Beacon!"

"Wait, wait, have you talked to our parents about this?" I ask.

Headmaster North scratches the back of his head. "Well, no, but-"

"Ugh!" Merida collapses against her couch. "Mum's not going to be happy about this!"