The next morning, after a good night's sleep, Hiccup woke up to a loud, intense discussion that came from downstairs. He quickly checked Toothless's stone bed but it was empty.

"Toothless!" he exclaimed and got up, "where are you? What for the love of-"

He reached the last step of the staircase, and came across what could turn into a disaster any minute. Iselin was standing next to the guest bed in the furthest corner, trying to calm down the amber-shooting Wonderchant. Astrid was standing in the doorway, not letting the obviously threatened Stormfly come in. In the midst of all this was the irritable Toothless, snarling at both Astrid and Iselin who were clearly the source of the noise. Knowing Astrid very well, Hiccup was sure that it would have been Astrid's pleasure to let Stormfly scare the Death Song away but she would never take the risk of hurting Toothless unless it was absolutely crucial.

"Hiccup Haddock! You had better explain everything and fast or I'll- I mean, a strange girl in your hut? And a freaking Death Song! What in the name of all our gods is this?!" Astrid shouted as she struggled trying to keep Stormfly at bay.

"Ehh, good morning Astrid! I'll gladly explain everything if you two manage to calm your dragons down! And Toothless, settle down, bud!"

Wonderchant shot one last blast of amber before Iselin managed to calm him down. Astrid told Stormfly to settle down outside and closed the door, looking furious.

"Well?" she demanded impatiently. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Astrid, this is Iselin- Iselin, this is Astrid. Astrid is my best friend and fiancée."

Astrid and Iselin exchanged a tense look before they both looked back at Hiccup, Astrid now looking frustrated and Iselin looking dumbstruck.

"And where the heck did she come from, and when?"

Hiccup looked quickly at Iselin. It looked like she felt embarrassed now.

"Want to tell your story yourself, Iselin?"

Iselin seemed too distracted to be able to revise the story she had told Hiccup last night.

"I- I..." Iselin tried to start.

"It's okay, I can do it," Hiccup said calmly, "let's all sit down."

Iselin sat down to the further end of the table, Astrid opposite her and Hiccup next to both of them. Toothless walked with care to Wonderchant to keep him company.

"Okay. I couldn't sleep last night so Toothless and I went on a night patrol. We found Iselin and Wonderchant camping on the secluded beach, we decided to go see what's going on and we made friends. She told me she had ended up in a shipwreck-"

Hiccup glanced at Iselin, and Iselin gave him an approving nod.

"- and stranded on Melody Island. She had found Wonderchant there and healed him because he had been hurt. They bonded, Iselin learned to ride and they have been trying to find her family that was also in the shipwreck. They had been searching all day and they decided to rest on our beach overnight. I just thought I'd be kind and provide them with accommodation because nights are getting pretty cold!"

Astrid gave Iselin a scrutinizing look and Iselin put up her hands, looking alert.

"Okay. Why did it have to be your hut?" Astrid asked, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Hiccup raised his eyebrows, looking at Astrid with disbelief.

"Astrid... I know I'm betrothed to you, but I don't think there's anything wrong in accommodating someone downstairs in my hut! I was upstairs myself! It was really, really late, or early to be exact! I can't just go knock on someone else's door at that hour and ask them to accommodate an unknown girl and a Death Song for Odin's sake!"

"Alright, alright, fine! I'm sorry, you weren't the only one who didn't sleep like a baby last night."

"Oh, what kept you up?" Hiccup asked her quietly.

"Probably the full moon... and Stormfly slept pretty restlessly, too."

The three of them sat in silence for a while.

"Look, I'm really sorry," Iselin said, sounding a bit stressed, "we should've stayed on the beach and just left first thing in the morning. We'll be on our way before anyone else sees us."

She stood up and was about to walk to Wonderchant but Hiccup stopped her, gently grabbing her wrist.

"Please, sit down. I promised I'd build you a saddle with Gobber," Hiccup reminded her, "and that I'd introduce you to everyone!"

"Doesn't seem like a good idea anymore," Iselin sighed.

"Iselin, I'm sorry," Astrid said earnestly, "I was just really surprised- especially by your Death Song. We don't really have good memories-"

"Yes, Hiccup told me you've encountered them twice," Iselin interrupted, "but Wonderchant is really kind, and he won't hurt a fly unless one of us is threatened!"

"I believe you," Astrid assured her, giving a tentative smile. Iselin returned it hesitantly.

Hiccup sighed, and was content with how the situation had turned out in the end.

"So, should we go meet the others?" Hiccup asked, sounding enthusiastic. Iselin and Astrid exchanged a glance and nodded at Hiccup. Astrid headed out the door, Hiccup called Toothless, and Iselin went to Wonderchant.

Hiccup and Toothless went quickly out the door after Astrid, and Hiccup grabbed Astrid by the hands, leading her behind the corner.

"Astrid, you know you'll never have reason to be jealous of me," Hiccup said quietly, holding Astrid's hands in his own and looking her in the eyes.

"Yes, babe, I know that but you also have to understand why I'm not thrilled about finding a strange girl in your hut, without a warning!"

"Of course I do. I was planning on introducing her to all of you when we get together in the Academy, I didn't want you to meet her like this."

Astrid gave Hiccup a crooked smile, and Hiccup replied with an encouraging one.

"You're the most important person in the world to me, don't forget about that. I could never hurt you, or betray you," he continued quietly.

"You're the most important to me, too." They gave each other an affectionate look. Hiccup pulled her against him and they embraced quickly. They had just the time to exchange a gentle kiss before they heard Iselin calling for them.

"Hiccup? Astrid? Where are you?"

They hurried back to their dragons.

"I'm sorry Iselin, we just... we just had a word," Hiccup said, blushing.

"It's okay, I just got worried cause you disappeared without a warning," Iselin said severely.

"I understand, please forgive us."

Iselin noticed both Hiccup and Astrid were blushing, and she gave them a smile with one raised eyebrow. She decided not to say anything, and they all mounted their dragons. Hiccup and Astrid lead the way to the Academy.

"Ehmm... Iselin," Hiccup called.

"Yes?"

"I think it best that you and Wonderchant stay hidden first, Astrid and I will tell the others about you before they see you."

"That's fine, just show us where we should wait."

Hiccup gave her a thumb-up and they arrived at the gate.

"Astrid, you go in first. I'll be there in a minute."

Astrid nodded and flied inside the rink.

"Okay, you should hide behind that corner before-"

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup recognised Fislegs's voice and Hiccup closed his eyes.

"Eh, hi, Fishlegs! Astrid's already in there, I'll be right there!"

"Okay!" After a moment Hiccup glanced over his shoulder. "Wait for my whistle, it's safe to come out when you hear it," he whispered, and then gestured Iselin and Wonderchant to hurry to the shelter of the shadows. He sighed and flied after Fishlegs. "That was too close."

Fishlegs and Astrid were talking about something when Toothless landed next to them and Hiccup dismounted.

"What were you doing there, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked with a curious tone.

"Ehh, you'll find out when everyone's here," Hiccup assured, and right then they heard the loud Monstrous Nightmare roar and Snotlout shouting "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi oi oi!"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows when Hookfang landed with a loud thud and Snotlout dismounted.

"What? It's been time since I did that! It's still fun," Snotlout declared.

"Still haven't grown out of it, now, have you?" Fishlegs muttered.

"Ugh, shut up," Snotlout sighed.

It didn't take long until the twins arrived, and Hiccup looked ready.

"Okay gang, you won't believe what we just found," Tuffnut began when he dismounted.

"We're more than eager to hear that after Astrid and I tell you guys about something-"

"What could be more important than what we just found?" Ruffnut asked, looking irritated.

"You'll find out if you just listen. No, Ruff and Tuff, I have to be first," Hiccup exclaimed, "just listen to me right now, please! I and Toothless patrolled last night because I couldn't sleep, and we noticed a campfire on the secluded beach. Yes, Fishlegs?"

"A campfire? You mean, you found someone there?"

"Yes, I was just coming to that! We found a new rider and her dragon. I let them stay overnight in my hut and I promised I'd introduce them to you guys. Please, don't panic when they come out."

"Why would we panic?"

Hiccup whistled as loudly as he could, and they heard a very short, familiar tune.

"Hiccup! You can't be serious! Is the - is the dragon actually a -?" Fishlegs spit out, sounding alert.

At the same time Wonderchant flew in and landed a cautious distance away from them. Iselin dismounted.

"A Death Song? Are you freaking kidding me?" Snotlout exclaimed and hid behind Hookfang's wing, looking grim.

"How on Earth-" Fishlegs just said, his jaw dropping. He held onto Meatlug.

"Guys, meet Iselin and Wonderchant," Hiccup said, trying to sound careless.

"So- who is who? Is the dragon Iselin or Wonderchant? What about the girl?" Tuffnut wondered.

"The girl is Iselin, the dragon is Wonderchant," Hiccup sighed, leaning his forehead into his hand.

Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch growled and snarled, and Wonderchant sheltered Iselin, looking threatened.

"Can you guys please calm down your dragons? Wonderchant is tame!" Hiccup told the others, "yes, you too, Snotlout!"

The others obeyed, Snotlout hesitantly, and their dragons calmed down.

"Wow, those colours! I had no idea Death Songs come in different colours! I gotta remember to write this down in the Book of Dragons," Fishlegs whispered, obviously fascinated.

Hiccup also looked at Wonderchant. His colours were easy to make out in the sunlight- the dominating colour was maroon, with black stripes, orange and yellow in the wings and at the back, the big dots in the wings navy blue.

"I know, right," Hiccup replied, sounding enthusiastic, "reminds me even more of a butterfly than the Death Songs we've seen!"

"Indeed!"

"Okay, why am I the only one that's utterly terrified over here? There's a freaking Death Song only fifty feet away from us!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"Because Wonderchant is still tame! Calm down!" Hiccup said impatiently.

Iselin looked curiously at Hiccup and Astrid's friends, until she gave Hiccup a questioning face.

"It's alright Iselin, come meet our friends!" Astrid said before Hiccup had time to react. Hiccup gave her a thankful face, and Iselin approached with care.

"The twins here are Tuff," Hiccup started, gesturing at Tuffnut.

"Why, hello, my fair lady," Tuff said, "let me introduce you to the king of dragon riders, and all the dragons- me!"

Iselin chuckled. "Hi, I'm Iselin," she said and offered her hand for Tuffnut to shake.

"...and Ruff."

Ruffnut eyed Iselin curiously for a while before shaking her hand.

"Where did you come from? You don't look like a Viking to me!"

"I'll tell you all later," Iselin promised.

"This overly confident guy here is Snotlout," Hiccup said and gestured at Snotlout.

"Hello, you," Snotlout said with a mischievous face, "I'm the bravest and most handsome Viking you must have ever seen! Snotlout! Oi oi oi!"

He shook Iselin's hand, and then kissed it out of the blue.

"Ehh, hello," Iselin blushed and pulled her hand back, biting her lip.

Snotlout earned an elbow to the side from Ruffnut. It seemed to others that they were now in an on-off relationship, and Snotlout's familiar greeting didn't seem to please her.

"And here's Fishlegs, he's the dragon geek," Hiccup finally said and gave Fishlegs a friendly look.

"Hi!" Fishlegs smiled shyly and waved his hand, and then he shook Iselin's hand as he noticed she was holding it out to him.

"Okay guys, now you've met our new friend. And just to make sure, I'm our gang leader because I was the first one to ride a dragon and the one who taught all of them how to do it," Hiccup said and gave Snotlout and Tuffnut a meaningful look, "and I'm also still the best rider of us all, along with Astrid."

Snotlout and Tuffnut glared at Hiccup who just sighed and raised one eyebrow at them.

"Welcome to our gang. And yes, it's pretty much always like this," Astrid declared, laughing.

"Will you guys be okay for a while? I'm the chief now so I can't neglect my duties!" Hiccup asked when he noticed how high the sun had risen.

"Yes, I'll take the lead with Astrid," Fishlegs declared.

"Thank you," Hiccup said earnestly to Astrid and Fishlegs, "I'll be back soon!" He mounted Toothless and flew out the gate.

Hiccup returned to the Academy about half an hour later, and everything seemed in place. All the gang were standing close to Wonderchant, admiring his colouring. Hiccup smiled as he dismounted Toothless.

"I'm glad you guys are fine with Wonderchant," he said when he walked to the others, "any of you bonded with him yet?"

"No, they haven't," Iselin replied first.

"I think we all should earn his trust," Hiccup stated, "he's a Death Song, so just in case. Do you mind if I start?"

Iselin gestured at Wonderchant, as if saying "go ahead!"

He nodded at her and walked right in front of the Death Song. He looked at the dragon for a while and took a deep breath.

"Okay, fella," Hiccup started calmly, "I'm a friend. I'd like to earn your trust, if you please."

He didn't do anything yet, he just observed the dragon that still looked a bit alert. He closed his eyes, turned his head away from the dragon and slowly stretched out his hand. He was perfectly still and kept his eyes closed until he heard a slightly high-pitched croon and felt a warm snout against the palm of his hand. He opened his eyes and smiled at the dragon. He briefly stroked the dragon's snout and stepped carefully back.

"Okay, so who's next?" he asked, sounding enthusiastic.

Astrid stepped carefully forth and followed Hiccup's example. She didn't dare to go quite as near the dragon as Hiccup but the dragon could reach her.

"Please don't shoot amber at me, boy, okay? I just want to-"

She was cut off as the dragon pressed his snout against her palm. She pulled her hand back and stepped next to Hiccup.

She was followed by Fishlegs who managed the task without problems; Snotlout wasn't careful enough and Hiccup had to help him out of the amber cocoon while Iselin calmed Wonderchant down. Ruffnut didn't have problems because she remembered how she had bonded with Scauldy. Tuffnut got cocooned, too, because he thought it wise to try and sing while reaching out his hand. Hiccup helped him out of the cocoon, too, before he managed to bond with Wonderchant.

"Okay, good job guys. My mum and Spitelout promised to take care of my chiefing duties today, what do you guys say we help Iselin look for her family?"