Forgot to do this last chapter so might as well now: I do not own nor do I claim ownership on the HTTYD series or any of the characters used in this story other than my own OC's. HTTYD belongs to Dreamworks and Cressida Cowell

Astrid quietly stepped out of bed before sunrise, casting a glance at the sleeping lump on the cot across the room. Rotti had shrugged most of the thick furs off while she slept. Her war-paint was smudged, and a bit of drool dribbled out of her mouth as she silently silently padded over, picking up a thin wool blanket and draping it over her new friend. She still wasn't exactly sure what to think of Rotti, but Stoick's word was enough for her to at least accept her. She grabbed all of her armor and stepped outside, strapping it on and saddling up on Stormfly. Time to train.


Rotti woke with a groan, pulling the straw pillow over her head to block out the sunlight that filtered in from an open window. "Ugh...what happened last night?" she muttered to herself, well aware Astrid was already gone. What a way to end her first day on the edge, and she can't even remember it. Eventually, she finally crawled out of the cot and strapped on her armor, deciding that today was a day for exploring.

"Wonder if I beat the twins in that contest.." She mused to herself, just before a big, slimy fish fell right onto her head. "Oh god...EWWWW!" She squealed, flinging the fish away and lamenting the loss of her clean hair.

"HA! That's what you get-" Ruffnut dropped down from the roof of the hut she just passed. "For beating us in a contest!" Tuffnut followed, wiping his hands on his tunic.

"That is so disgusting! What is wrong with you two!?" She shuddered as she examined the putrid slime covering her hand. "Ugh, and for your information, I don't even remember last night, so thanks for reminding me that you guys need to get going on my gathering today. Ooh, and all week, too."

The twins groaned, realizing their mistake. "Do we really have to? Fishlegs said you only out-lasted us by like, 2 seconds!" Ruffnut complained, putting on the best pitiful face she could muster.

"Yes, you do. After I get a bath, which I didn't need until now, I'll give you the list. It's up to you to find them though." She huffed, turning her nose up at the downtrodden twins. "Oh, and by the way, use gloves. My favorites are poisonous to the touch." She said with a smirk as she sauntered off in search of where ever they did their bathing. Finally she happened upon Hiccup, and she happily scampered up to him.

"Oh! Hi Rotti-oh, lemme guess, twins?" He stared at the smelly slime in her hair and she sheepishly nodded, a flush reddening her cheeks. "Well we don't have a 'proper' bathhouse here on the Edge, usually we just go to an island where there are hot springs."

Her face brightened at 'hot springs,' yet immediately fell when Hiccup awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Let me guess, too busy to send me there? Don't worry, I can find a stream on my own." She smiled nervously at him before heading off into the woods. "They'd better start training me soon...I mean what do they expect me to do, start it myself?" She scoffed at the idea of that, climbing over some bushes and coming to a small clearing, a crystal clear stream running through it.

"Ah….finally." She sighed, checking the surrounding brush for any voyeurs before checking the temperature of the stream she happened upon. Not too shallow, not too deep and...freezing, obviously. "Eh...beggars can't be choosers..." She muttered as she shed her armor and linens, doing a quick second check before stepping into the cold stream. Her skin prickled and tightened, before finally relaxing. She mulled over the events of yesterday, twirling her fingers in the water. She'd have to ask Astrid later about what she did last night, hopefully nothing too embarrassing. She was still unsure about her 'new life,' but she figured she might as well dive head-first into it rather than stalling around the edge of the water, metaphorically.

A quick glance around assured that she was, indeed, alone. She chanced some small magick, the water coiling around her neck and up into her hair, pulling the oils and fish residue out of her roots and into the stream. Dunking her head underwater, she scrubbed away her old war paint as well as the sweat and grime of 3 days without a good bath. She cursed after she surfaced, the angry red marks from excessive scrubbing were mocking her misfortune. "If I build my own hut you can be damn sure there'll be a bathtub in it…." she grumbled, exiting the stream and drying off with a ratty piece of linen. "and I'm gonna kill those twins for making me even get into that cold water in the first place..."


When she finally made her way back to Astrid's hut, its permanent resident was already inside, washing her face after morning training.

"Morning Rotti, how'd you sleep?" Astrid smirked at her, noting her damp hair and displeased expression. "Must've been the twins. Ugh, those two..." She thought to herself, feeling sorry for the new resident of the island.

"I slept...eh..." She sat down and pulled a mortar and pestle out of her bag, pouring in a vial of purple liquid and powdered clay, grinding them together to make her paint. "So, what exactly happened last night? All I know is that I won." She asked while using her fingers to paint on the designs, trying very carefully not to get it in her hair.

"Well, you and the twins started neck-and-neck, I don't think I've ever seen that much mead go down that fast. What's weird though is that you were completely straight-faced and silent the whole time, minus the trash talk." Astrid chuckled at the memory, and for Rotti's sake wouldn't repeat some of the scathing dialogue that went on between her and the twins, particularly her and Tuffnut. "Ruffnut ended up puking, so she was disqualified, and after your, like, 10th mug, Tuffnut passed out and some of his hair ended up in the fire!" She couldn't help but find the whole situation hilarious, just how often is it she gets to see the twins bested?

Rotti's face fell a little, she could see the humor in it but she hadn't met to cause that much trouble. Feeling the mood drop, Astrid quickly scrambled to end the story on a less-guilty note. "I mean, his hair's okay, it was so dirty it barely even singed. But anyway, we all congratulated you but not 2 seconds later you just pass out, right on the table! How did you do that anyway?"

"Hell if I know, that's just how I get if I drink too much. Maybe it's a survival mechanism." Rotti chuckled, tapping a charcoal pencil to her chin as she contemplated what to put on her "grocery" list. The conversation faded into comfortable silence as she thought long and hard about the different plants native to this area. Substitute blue oleander for death bell, poisonous thistle for northern needle bush, tree berries and dragons tongue ground up should make something similar to snow berry juice, and she'd just have to talk to a sea-faring trader about some of her other choice 'herbs and spices.' She smiled to herself as she gently folded the note, marching out to look for the twins.


"Hmm...nowhere to be found, still!" she huffed as she crossed the landing strip for the second time. "Really, can't they take a loss with grace? A little dignity?And I hope they don't expect me to gather all these up myself, for there sake..." She mumbled the last bit, her agitation palpable in the air. She was so irritated in fact, that she didn't notice the silent creeping of a certain Hideous Zippleback on the roof behind her, and jumped practically 6 feet in the air when it screeched right in her ear, accompanied by an unmistakable screech.

"LOKI'D!" They shouted with glee, extremely amused, and slightly impressed, with how far she managed to get off the ground. "Oh, oh that was good. Nothing beats a good ol' classic scare. Doesn't get much simpler than that, right sis? Tuffnut remarked as him and his sister were choking on their own laughter. "Definitely brother, you just can't find that level of sophisticated simplicity in the newer ones. I personally- Oh. Uh-oh." She paused as Rotti slowly turned to them, face a deep, angry red, teeth bared in a snarl.

"WHAT. IS. WRONG. WITH. YOU." She definitely wasn't a shouter, that was for sure. Her words were precise, enunciated, and absolutely dripping with terrible terror venom. Her eyebrow twitched and she balled her fists up tight, trying oh-so-very hard not to attack them and their dragon with her bare hands. "I don't CARE whether you like me or not, but the least you two could do is try and respect me, and that includes, oh, I don't know, not trying to ruin my day every couple of hours."

"Jeeze, no need to be so touchy. We're just havin' a lil' fun, is all." Ruffnut reasoned, turning to her brother for support. She really wasn't prepared for the earful she knew Hiccup was going to give them later. Tuffnut nodded firmly at her, a smirk on his face. "Yeah! And in the name of Loki, no less! C'mon, gotta please the guy upstairs."

"Oh please, Loki can shove it for all I care. Oh, and consider yourselves debt-free, I wouldn't want you two to completely destroy the plants around here that I actually can use." She practically growled, turning on her heel and stomping off to find a place she could get some peace and quiet.

The twins shrugged and dismounted Barf and Belch before returning to their own hut, each feeling kind of guilty in their own way. "I mean, why did she have to get so mad? I like it better when people just yell at us and get it over with. She was completely steamed!" Ruffnut complained, dragging the edge of her knife along a whetstone. She didn't mean to scare her so much, but she guessed the fear of dragon attacks weren't as far back in the past for Rotti as they were for her and her brother.

"Yeah! I mean Hiccup told us to make her feel welcome, and that's what we're doing, right? We're treating her the same way we treat everyone else, no one on this island is exempt!" He huffed as he dusted Ser Boaris' mounted head. He did feel bad, but it wasn't like he was ever going to admit it. Honestly, she made him a little nervous. She was pretty, in a viking-way but also in her own way, and after being around his sister and Astrid for the past 4 years, it was...weird, to have a girl around that he was even mildly attracted to. But she was also the exact opposite of someone he would even consider. "As if I'd ever be seriously interested in her," He thought to himself, being very careful to make sure his thoughts stayed out of his mouth. "She's boring, stiff, hates fun…and she probably hates me." He sighed, shrugging off the tension in his shoulders and resolving that she'd eventually just get over it. Everyone does.


Rotti found herself lounging by the edge of a cliff, staring out at the deep blue ocean and sparsely clouded horizon. She was staring precisely north-by-northeast, and somewhere across that sea she knew her home was there, a frozen rock dotted with thick forests and icy rivers. She may not be able to go back any time soon, but her skin still ached for the stinging cold, her heart longing for the bitter wind to go through her hair. But no, she wasn't in Vyrmir, she was on Dragon's Edge where her skin soaked up the warm rays and salty sea-breezes caressed her face.

She hated it. She hated how it lulled her into a false sense of security, it's siren song tempting her to relax, to become vulnerable, to change. She refused to relent, as stony and unmoving as the mountains that dominated her home, because she knew that no matter where you are in this world, danger is lurking just beyond your sight line. And she's not about to let some nice weather change that.

Her train of thought was derailed as Fishlegs jogged up to her spot, panting and gasping for air. "There you are! Hiccup wanted me to come find you, it's time to design and plan your hut! And teach you the basics about dragons!" He practically squealed the last part, excitement brimming in the air around him. Rotti rose a brow, not expecting to sketch out her own hut so soon. She shrugged, following him down to the clubhouse where Hiccup had amassed large sheets of paper and charcoal pencils of all sizes.

"Okay, now that you're here, we can get started. Now, we didn't plan for a 7th rider to join us, but I've found a decent sized clear spot, higher up than most of the base so you'd have to zipline down or go through the woods." He pointed the spot out on the map, and Rotti nodded thoughtfully before getting Hiccup to help her sketch out the floor plan and design. It was small, but not tiny, with an alchemy station, bookshelf, and herb-drying rack on one wall. A good sized bed would be in the corner by the window, and in the other corner was a sunken tub that Hiccup said her dragon would be able to heat for her, whenever she got one. In the center would be a stone circle for her dragon to sleep, but because she doesn't have one yet they just left the size ambiguous. After tweaking the design a little she held the paper up, nodding firmly. She could see herself getting quite comfortable in her own little house.

"So how soon do you think we can get this started?" She asked. Hiccup stroked his chin, arithmetic rushing through his head as he estimated all the costs and materials. "Well there's no shortage of rocks and wood around here, and then there's the digging, and we have to get furs and glass and that station of yours…About 3 weeks, think you can hold out for that long?"

Her face fell, but it wouldn't do her good to seem ungrateful. "I can try, heheh. So, about the dragons?" Hiccup nodded, letting an excited Fishlegs take over. He plopped the book of dragons in front of her, grinning like a child on Snoggletog.

"Okay so, first we start with the classes. Every dragon is part of a class. Now the most well-known is the Stoker class, hotheaded fire-breathers like Typhoomerangs, and the Monstrous Nightmare, which I'm sure you already know can set itself on fire using a unique flammable gel. Stoker class dragons are very passionate and can sometimes get a little over-attached, and if you find one with it's flame going out, it means it's going to die. It can only be reignited by Fireworm Queen venom or by eating the flame gel combs. Both very hard to get." Rotti was listening intently to Fishlegs, eager to learn all the secrets and quirks of the beasts that had terrorized these lands not even 5 years ago.

As the lesson went on she found herself most drawn to the dragons in the Mystery class. The idea of her with a stealthy, silent dragon at her side was appealing, to say the least. She upturned her nose at the image of a Hideous Zippleback, the embarrassment of the days earlier events still a fresh wound.

"Y'know we used to call the Mystery class the Fear class, but since we don't fear dragons anymore we decided to change it." Fishlegs explained as his 'student' flipped through the book, skimming the descriptions and statistics.

"Hm," She frowned "Shame the Death Song is listed as 'untrainable,' it is quite lovely."

Fishlegs shuddered at the memory. "I think I'd rather live with the twins…" Rotti rose a brow at him.

"That bad?"

"That bad."


Rotti rubbed her temple as as she walked up towards the dining hut, book of dragons in hand. Fishlegs warned her that Tuffnut was cooking tonight, and after hours of cramming dragon facts into her head and still not having everything down pat, she didn't really feel like eating with the others tonight. She wrapped some bread, cheese, and smoked meat in a cloth before grabbing a bottle of spiced mead on her way out. She rounded the corner, firing off dragon trivia in her head and failing to notice that someone else was rounding that same corner.

"Ugh! Seriously?" She huffed at Tuffnut as she gathered up the things she had dropped.

"You ran into me!" Tuffnut argued, having dropped down to help her pick things up without even registering it.

"Same difference." She grumbled. He picked up the bottle and handed it back to her, and their fingers just barely brushed. Tuffnut was almost jolted, her hands were cold as ice and felt like they had electricity buzzing on them, a shockwave he wasn't sure was real or not traveling up his arm. He quickly, and clumsily, composed himself, muttering a sorry and saying he had more important things to attend to, thank you very much. Rotti frowned, walking back to Astrid's hut to thankfully find it empty.

She glanced at her hand as she ate and read, remembering that accidental physical contact. She might've actually enjoyed it, had it not been for the fact that it was Tuffnut and he never washed his hands. She sighed, returning her focus to the book in front of her, trying so hard to keep her mind on one track. Brushing fingertips with boys is something other 17 year old viking girls think about, she told herself. Those simple pleasures in life were not for her.

An hour turned to two hours, and two hours to three and she had still barely got any reading done. Her mind was just flitting about, to how her life would be here in the long term, to her hut designs, to what she would make for dinner if she was asked to. It was much easier to focus on all things not-Tuffnut than to focus on one thing that was not Tuffnut. She finally decided to turn in, closing the book and preparing herself for bed. Snuggled up warm under the furs, a belly full of warm mead and a meal-sized snack, her mind wandered lower and lower, until she was gently running her fingers along a large scar on her stomach. The scar made her frown, but she couldn't pretend it wasn't there. Because it was, every day, and will probably be for the rest of her life. An ugly reminder of the worst day of her life.


A/N: Wooh! Finally got that second chapter out. Honestly, it's 7:02 in the morning and I haven't slept and i'm too eager to get this out to do a proper editing. I just want it OUT THEREEEE. I need the attention, so please remember to review! No thought or opinion is too small to tell me. No seriously, I soak up the attention like a...very thirsty plant, I guess. I tried to explore a little bit more of Rotti's personality other than 'broody and silent,' as well as throwing in some interactions with other characters as well. Sorry if there isn't enough dialogue though, I'm very slowly working my way up to a level of confidence where I can actually write for the other characters, haha. Anyway, please tell me what you think!

EDIT: I have updated the picture of Rotti that can be found on my profile, just delete the spaces in the imgur url. I mean really, why have an option to make text a link if it's not going to work? Thanks fanfiction