Somewhat nervous about posting this as it's really rough and will most likely need to be edited a lot...

Reviews/constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! I don't write many multi-chapter stories so i'm always looking for ways to improve. I hope you enjoy!
Note: re-edited as i've realized a little too late that I really, really hate writing in past tense.


"What do you think, Skullcrusher? Quite the view, isn't it?"
Eret, Son of Eret, gives a laugh as the enormous creature, presently curled up beside him, lifts its head to give him a gentle nudge on the arm. Eret gives the creature's head an affectionate pat before Skullcrusher shuts his eyes once again, content to support the weight of his new master with the bulk of his body, and sleep.

The entire island of Berk is laid out before the two of them, dragon and rider: hills and rooftops glowing in a sunset that Eret never knew could look so beautiful.
From somewhere far, far below, he can hear dragons roaring and villagers laughing and shouting. He can see small lights begin to dot the village as the sun dips below the line on the horizon where the sea meets the sky. He can smell the mouthwatering scent of roasting seasoned meats dripping with fat, and baked, spiced sweets on the wind as mothers, fathers, and children prepare for the night's festivities.

Eret takes it all- the peace and the calm and the quiet, in.
And he can scarcely believe that this is now his home. Because just a few weeks ago, he had had nothing. And now, he has things that he has never even dreamed of being able to hope for.
All is right with the world.
And yet, somehow, it is not.

True, he is by all rights, 'redeemed'; a true citizen of Berk, and most have been gracious enough to forget or forgive him for his association with Drago Bludvist, but there are still those who can not, will not accept him. Not yet.
Eret understands this, of course. Really, he does. But when he walks through the village each day and people's eyes grow uneasy and all conversations cease at the sight of his face, that is when the brand Drago had seared into his skin all those years ago still burns. Because Eret had been...misguided in the past, perhaps. But he had never truly been the enemy. That was what he chose to believe, anyway.
That was the only thing he could believe, if he were to go on.

"Hey, Eret."
The very large man jumps at the sudden voice but collects himself just in time to see his friend Astrid emerging from the sparse forest that begins at the very base of the mountain and ends just a few feet from the edge of the cliff where he and his dragon now rest.
"Astrid." he says in way of greeting. Then, he frowns. "What are you doing here?"
The blonde gives a little laugh and then a shrug as she settles down to his right, feet dangling over the edge of the mountain with a reckless abandon.
Eret almost chuckles at that. The action is very...her.
"Hiccup said you were up here and, well, I thought you could, I don't know...use a friend." Astrid says, guiltily avoiding his gaze.
Because they've both had this conversation a thousand times, or rather, Astrid has tried to have this conversation a thousand times, but Eret, as glib as he knows he can be, is very good at deflecting.

There is a short moment of silence then and when the girl senses that her companion isn't on the offensive just yet, she presses just a little further "He's worried about you, you know..."
"Me?" Eret finally replies with feigned shock in his voice. "Whatever for? I'm the best dragon wrangler around."
Astrid shoots him a look.
"You know what I mean." she replies shortly. A pause. Then, more seriously, "It's not exactly a secret that people walk on eggshells around you. You can't keep pretending that doesn't bother you, Eret. Don't you ever get lonely?"
The enormous man drops the bravado with a little laugh and then ponders that question as he takes a slow, deep breath, filling his lungs with the cold, salty sea air of Berk.
"No." he lies.
He gives his friend an easy smile and lays a heavy hand on Skullcrusher as he nods toward the village. "This here," he says. "this is all i'll ever need." With some difficulty, he adds "And you and I both know it's more than I deserve."

And after another moment, Astrid's features finally soften. Because for once, Eret is saying something, anything about the matter and that is progress in it of itself.
"...Alright." she relents. "Just...promise you'll come to us if there's anything you need. Hiccup and I, we trust you, Eret."
"I know." he says.
After that, Astrid finally lets Eret settle into more comfortable topics of discussion, such as their respective dragon companions, Hiccup's new role as chief, and the upcoming dragon race. And of those things, he talks freely and enthusiastically.
"Oh! That's right. You're coming to the homecoming celebration at the great hall, right?" Astrid asks during a brief lull in their conversation.
Eret nods.
"Don't know who it's for, but it'll be nice not to have to eat my own cooking for once."
Astrid laughs at that, remembering the first and last time Eret had tried his hand at making a glazed roast.

"Yeah, well. She's an old friend of mine. About a year ago, she left the village to-"
But suddenly, a familiar pair of roars resounds throughout the hills, followed by a crash and several voices shouting and several sheep bleating.
"Oh no..." Astrid groans, slapping one hand to her forehead as a plume of smoke begins to rise from somewhere in the village.
"What was that?" Eret wonders.
"The twins." she mutters through gritted teeth. But her voice grows very quickly into a shout. "On my way up here, I saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut headed towards Mildew's house. I thought they'd be smart enough not to stir up any trouble for this one night, but obviously, they have all the self-control of a-"

Another explosion.
Followed by an old man's shrill warbling: "You'd better answer for this! I don't want any more of you filth-ridden, rat-eating, monster-loving beasts in my-"
Astrid sighs.
"I'd better go."
And then she scrambles hastily to her feet and is running back towards the forest from whence she came, leaving Eret to try and process what in Thor's name is going on.
"You need any help?" Eret calls after her, but he is still a little lost.
So Astrid just smiles, shakes her head, and continues on her way.
"I'll be fine!" she shouts back over her shoulder. "See you tonight, Eret! And don't be late!"


He is, in fact, late by a whole half hour.
Not on purpose, mind you. In fact, he had begun preparing for the feast as soon as he had arrived home, feeling quite nervous as this was supposed to be his first official village event. After he had bathed and dressed with a whole hour left to spare however, he had sat at his desk and, exhausted from all the fuss, had fallen asleep.
Astrid, of course, is furious by the time he finally walks into the rowdy, bustling great hall, trying to smooth down his sleep-mussed head of dark hair.
"Where have you been?" she demands, giving him a solid punch in the arm as soon as he is within reach.
"Ow!"
Astrid isn't wearing her usual pair of gloves with the padded, metal-tipped knuckles, but her strength is still substantial.
Eret stumbles his way through and explanation, but his friend just rolls her eyes.
"Nevermind, just come on." Astrid interrups, sighing heavily. And then she half-drags him around and through the throngs of people all drinking mugs of ale and sharing stories or jokes or riddles, over to the table where the rest of the group is sitting, already wolfing down their supper: warm loaves of bread studded with nuts and berries or topped with herbs and cheese, huge platters of potatoes prepared five different ways (baked and mashed and boiled and seasoned and plain), and juicy cuts of glistening roasted chicken or berry-glazed mutton chops or spiced pork. And then rows and rows of tureens filled to the brim with different stews and soups next to the meat pies which are next to the fruit pies which are next to the sweet, sugary cakes.

Mouth watering and stomach rumbling, Eret sits at the table and immediately begins piling his plate high with a little of everything before he even thinks to greet the others at the table.
Hiccup's friends are a little younger than he is, but they're friendly enough and they are some of the only villagers who seem to actually like his presence, let alone tolerate it, so of course, Eret tends to seek them out whenever he doesn't quite feel like being alone.
"So, Eret." Ruffnut drawls, sliding down to the seat across from him. She rests her chin on her hands and blinks at him coyly. "Haven't seen you all day."
"Maybe he was avoiding you." Tuffnut snorts.
"Shut up."
"Ow! Hey!"
"Get off me!"
"What do you think you're-"
"Alright, alright, cut it out, you two. You've already caused enough trouble for one day, don't you think?" Hiccup interrupts dryly. He waves his fork in their general direction with a weary sigh.
"She started it."
"Did not."
"Did too-"
And the argument nearly starts all over again, but Astrid silences them with one sharp look and Eret just laughs good-naturedly at the duo as he pours himself some ale.

"So which one is everyone gathered here to celebrate, anyway?" he asks, nodding towards the villagers.
Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Hiccup, and Snotlout all open their mouths to explain, but Astrid beats them all to it.
"I'll introduce you later. Don't worry about it." she says with a casual wave of her hand.
Eret nods and then, from somewhere across the room, a song picks up and trickles through the crowds, gaining strength as it travels. Before he knows it, the room is ringing with cheerful instruments playing their complimenting tunes all at once and loud voices booming throughout the hall in high clear sopranos and deep throaty rumbles alike.
And then, there is the dancing.

"Shall we?" Eret overhears Hiccup say to Astrid with a little bow and a ridiculously sappy smile. Tuffnut mimes vomiting.
But Astrid gives him a hard kick in the shin before accepting Hiccup's hand, and then the two of them join the mad frenzy of flushed cheeks and stamping and clapping.
"Hey, I want to dance too!" Ruffnut grumbles, and before anyone can protest, she grabs Snotlout's large hand and pulls him to the floor as well, leaving a disgruntled Fishlegs and Tuffnut behind.

"Man, this blows." Tuffnut grumbles boredly. "Come on. Let's go find something better to do."
"Ooh, ooh! I know! We could..."
The rest of the sentence tumbles out of Fishlegs's mouth so quickly, Eret can't understand a word of it.

There is a dumbfounded silence.
Then, "Uh. Yeah. We're not doing that." Tuffnut dead-pans, rising from his seat. "You coming, Eret?"
Mouth too full to speak just that second, the man just shakes his head and then the two boys shrug and disappear into the crowd.

It is awhile before Eret feels full enough of good food to sit back with his mug of drink and observe the dancers. But when he does, he realizes that they are beautiful.
Not so much the people themselves as the liveliness that they express as they leap and twirl across the floor in pairs, dressed in deep blues and emerald greens and shades of violet and crimson. The clothes are relatively simple and they are more sturdy than decorative, much like their wearers, but the heat emanating from the enormous fire pit in the center of the room makes it so that, for this one night, the people can shed their many many layers and exchange their heavy fur-trimmed armors for embroidered gowns and tunics instead.

Suddenly, a familiar head of russet-colored hair catches Eret's eye and he immediately recognizes it to be Hiccup's. The young chief is no doubt explaining some complicated new idea to his partner and neither him nor Astrid seem to realize that they are headed straight toward another pair of dancers; a rather burly looking fellow and a woman whose face is obscured by the back of Hiccup's head.

He watches as they collide.
"Oh! I'm so sorry." Eret hears Astrid say over the sound of the music.
But when the woman turns to apologize in turn, Astrid's eyes widen in recognition and then both women and their partners fall into a conversation right then and there, much to the annoyance of some dancers nearby.
Thankfully, Astrid catches on and drags everyone over a few feet, where the conversation resumes and Eret, with nothing else to do, observes.

The first thing he notices is that the other woman's partner laughs heartily. The second is that he moves heavily. In other words, this man is just like anyone other you might find in the village. So Eret turns his attention to the woman instead.

She is, at the moment, still hidden behind Hiccup's head, but Eret can make out that she is laughing pleasantly at something her partner is saying. Astrid cuts in and then Hiccup makes a strange waving motion with his arms, demonstrating some odd...something.
And then Astrid punches him and Hiccup finally stumbles over a few steps and it is only then that Eret is able to see...that the woman's face is concealed with an engraved mask, marking that she, in fact, is the honored guest of the feast.

Suddenly, as if she can feel him staring (which she, in fact, can as Eret has never been a particularly subtle person), the woman turns her head and looks right in his direction.
He can't be sure whether or not she is looking at him, but he quickly lowers his eyes to the floor, hoping he hasn't been caught. Because then, he'd have to explain.
Evidently, however, it is too late.
Because even though he can't see her anymore, he can feel someone's footsteps approaching his direction and before he knows it, the hem of a gown falls into his line of view. He glances upward cautiously.

"Astrid…" Eret says in surprise. For she is not at all who he is expecting to see.
"Come on. I have someone to introduce you to." his friend merely replies with a smile. And she takes his arm and drags him over to where the masked person stands, conversing animatedly with Hiccup.

Up close, Eret can see that even without the mask, the woman would be quite pretty. Not a beauty, all-told, but...interesting perhaps.
"Hey, Althea?" Astrid says. And the woman turns to look at her friend, still laughing at a joke she has been told just seconds before. "This is who I wanted to introduce you to. His name is Eret."
The woman smiles at him amiably and suddenly, the room feels a little too warm.
"It's a pleasure to-…" Althea starts to say, but suddenly, she trails off, eyes wide open in apparent surprise.
"Uh...Althea? You okay, there?" Hiccup asks, nudging her in the side with his elbow.

She gives a small start.
"...Never better." the woman replies. Then, she smiles again. This time however, her smile is different somehow and it makes Eret feel... uneasy. Still, he quickly dismissed the feeling.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." she says to him. The woman drops a small curtsy, but the entire time, her eyes never leave his face.
"Likewise." he returns with a bow.
"So then," Astrid cuts in cheerfully. "now that you two have met, why don't you go and have a dance? You don't mind, do you?"
That last part is spoken to the Althea's previous partner who bows out politely to go have another mug of ale with a shrug.
"No, no, I really-" Eret tries to protest, but to his surprise, the woman, Althea, agrees quite readily.
"Great! Have fun." Astrid says with an encouraging smile aimed in Eret's direction. And then, she and Hiccup are off once again.

Once they are left alone, both of them shuffle around awkwardly for a few uncomfortable moments.
"Well...shall we?" Althea finally says, holding out her hand.


They dance for hours and speak very little.
Sometimes, between songs, he makes a comment here and there and she replies, but other than that, they spend their time laughing and spinning and just trying to catch their breaths.
Soon, however, it becomes quite clear that she has reached her limit.
"Care to step outside for some air?" she gasps, cheeks still flushed, eyes still smiling.
And too elated to think of the strained smile she had given him before, he agrees. Because here is someone who has yet to hear of the person he used to be. Here is someone to whom he is just another villager. And he is addicted to that feeling.

"Goddess, it's stuffy in there." Althea breathes when they are outside. She takes a moment to drink in the cool night air and the blessed silence, and then, she slips the mask off of her face.
And Eret had been right.
She is, in fact, merely somewhat pretty. Or at least her profile is. He can't quite see her face from this angle, although if he-
"Now, then."
Eret jumps.
And suddenly, Althea whirls around to face him with cold features unlike anything he has ever seen.
A shiver goes down his spine.
A derisive half-snort, half-laugh escapes the woman's lips.

"And to think I almost gave up on ever finding you..."

But before he can register what that means, something hits him, hard, and everything goes black.


Thank you for reading!