As the door closed behind him, Hiccup looked for the girl that had caused so much uproar within the few hours she'd been on Berk. It was strange to see that everyone on Berk had welcomed the other three with open arms but had been hesitant when it came to Vesta. She was one that was either welcomed or pushed away from the people. There was no in between.

He saw the girl nowhere in sight but was surprised to see Gothi walking back to her hut while holding a bucket of what would appear to be herbs of some sort and her staff while her flock of Terrible Terrors circled close around her. One of the younger dragons dove after another and Hiccup watched as the bucket and staff fell out of Gothi's arms.

The dragon looked at her apologetically until she simply patted it's head and went to pick up the herbs. Hiccup walked forward to help but stopped in his tracks when Vesta walked into view and knelt down to pick up the herbs to place them in the bucket. When they finished placing the herbs back in the bucket, Gothi smiled in gratitude before reaching for the bucket.

"Please, let me help." Vesta's soft tone and kind smile were contradicting to the rebellious attitude she'd had since she'd come to Berk.

Gothi thought about this for a moment before pointing to the hut that the elder called home. Vesta placed the bucket on her hip and despite her ability to easily outwalk the elder, she stayed close by. She made no comment about the stairs that led to Gothi's hut and seemed content with the silence between the two women.

Hiccup watched after the two but made no move to follow them until Gothi touched the girl's arm. They hadn't walked very far so Vesta knew that they were not stopping due to the possibility of Gothi being tired.

The moment Vesta's cautious pink eyes met Hiccup's gentle green ones, there was a tension between the two. Neither spoke and Vesta was about to turn away when the elder made her way over to the young chief.

"Is everything okay?" He asked with a polite smile. The old woman smiled and gestured with her staff for him to walk towards the girl.

Hiccup gestured to the bucket that the fiery-haired girl was carrying as he asked "May I?"

"No," Vesta answered quickly but her tone wasn't harsh. "Not that I don't appreciate the help but I can't imagine that stairs are the easiest thing for you to handle."

Hiccup stares at her for a moment before letting out a light laugh as he realized she was referring to his leg. "You've met Toothless, right? Trust me, stairs aren't a problem."

"That not what I… I didn't mean… It's just that…" She was stumbling over her words in an attempt to say what was on her mind. "I'll just be damned, there is no way for that to come out right."

"Believe me, I've heard it enough to know that you are trying to be nice." He grabbed the bucket from her arms and gave her a sly smile before adding "The stuttering is new though."

She places rolled her eyes before saying: "Strange. That guilty feeling just up and vanished without a trace."

"I'm almost convinced except for the fact that I can tell you are trying not to smile." The moment he finished speaking, she allowed herself to fully smile before they began to follow Gothi up to her home.

Once they made it to the hut, Hiccup placed the bucket of herbs next to the door so that the elder could have easy access to them when she needed. He turned to ask if she needed their help with anything else when he spotted her looking at Vesta. The Terrible Terrors had all stayed close to Gothi except for the one who had knocked the bucket out of her hand. That particular one was currently perched on Vesta's extended arm as she scratched underneath the dragon's chin.

She walked over to Gothi and put her arm next to her staff so that the dragon would leave her arm and return to its guardian. Gothi smiled at the dragon before looking at Vesta and Hiccup. She wrote out her appreciation for their help in the dirt and they both nodded before making their way back down the stairs.

They were halfway down when Vesta spoke in a less than amused tone. "So did you follow me to make sure that I didn't hurt her or did you listen to your girlfriend's advice and come to tell me that I'm not welcome here?"

"Neither but I will tell you that you are too quick to judge. It's my job to decide if you are dangerous and to decide if you should leave. I think you are a pain in the ass but not a threat to my people." His words were quick and harsh because he was defending himself now. He had always listened to the advice of those around him but he wasn't about to let this newcomer think that he didn't have a mind of his own.

"I'm actually relieved to hear that." She let go of the attitude and a smile lit up her features. When Hiccup looked at her confused she offered him the explanation of "It's good to know that you think for yourself."

He was about to say something when they reached the last step and she took off in a run to the arena. He wasn't even aware that he was running after her until he was quickly catching up to her. She took a quick look over her shoulder and was surprised to see that he had caught up with her so easily. The moment they reached the arena, she stopped in her tracks and he had a frustrated expression on his face.

He took a minute to catch his breath when he asked "Why do you keep running from me? I don't even have a threatening appearance."

She walked forward and said nothing until she was close to him. She spoke just above a whisper when she said: "Neither do I. Appearances have a way of fooling people though."

"You are infuriating." He growled and she couldn't hold back her laughter as she walked away from him.

She leaned against the arena and looked up at the stars before saying "I can't even tell you how many times I've heard that in my life."

"Are you crazy? Is that what this is? You are crazy and lured me away from the crowd to kill me?" He asked as he ran an aggravated hand through his hair.

She didn't offer a response but instead only let out a small laugh. She didn't take her eyes off of the stars when she asked: "Why did you run after me?"

"I came to apologize for my friends." He bit his lip out of nervousness. He knew that they felt no remorse for what they had said and it obviously didn't bother Vesta but that made him feel worse.

She put her arms behind her head before saying "It's nothing I'm not used to. Hiccup, people don't often take kindly to people who are different than the rest. My sisters are easy to get along with because they do their best to make others happy. The whole point of me goading Snotlout was the fact that he will fight better tomorrow if he's enraged. He won't explain why he does what he does, he'll listen to his instinct."

"How does that help you?" He asked and only then did she look up, her pink eyes seemed to have a light glow to them that matched her gleeful smile.

She leaned away from the arena's wooden post but didn't come close to him when she said "I get the chance to learn the weak and strong points of a new opponent with a familiar weapon. That's something that can't be taught without being in a real fight."

Vesta looked into Hiccup's green eyes and saw no trace of annoyance, caution, or disapproval. Instead, she saw understanding and that he was in deep thought. She was about to ask what was wrong when he answered the question for her.

"I'm in full approval for you and my cousin to fight tomorrow." His words were calm and careful. She smiled her gratitude and he added: "However, I want something in return."

She arched an eyebrow at him before saying "I'm listening, Chief."

He rolled his eyes at the title before saying "Win or lose, if they are willing, I want your sisters to spend some time with the dragons. I don't want them to be afraid of them for the time that you all are here."

She looked at him with a smile before saying "Terra and Skya are never going to agree to that."

"I said the same thing about my father and he spent the last years of his life with one by his side. I just want the chance to show them that they are wrong about the dragons." She didn't fail to notice the way his breathing changed so slightly at the mention of his father

Vesta found herself wondering why the smallest cloud of guilt covered his eyes but let it go as he held out his hand. He looked deeply into her eyes as he said "Deal?"

"It's a deal." She reached her hand out and took his hand before shaking it once. They held on only a moment longer than necessary but in that moment, both of them noticed just how much a spark could light with the feeling of her gentle and smooth hand in his rough and calloused one.

He let his hand drop to his side and she crossed her arms over her chest before saying "Good night, Hiccup."

"Good night, Vesta." He walked off after that and saw the twins and Vesta's sisters making their way to the arena.

Her sisters said nothing as they walked past him but their expressions held all the words he needed to hear. Terra was enraged and refused to look at the young chief, Skya looked worried and only met his eyes for a moment, and Isla smiled at him sweetly as she kept pace with her sisters.

"So, we have the four newbies staying at our place. If you hear screaming in the middle of the night, we have nothing to do with it." Ruffnut said with a wave of her arms to emphasize the word nothing.

Tuffnut walked by and shrugged as he said: "We probably have everything to do with it."

The moment they were out of sight, Toothless walked up to his rider and gave him a curious look. Hiccup smiled before placing his hand on the dragon. There was no reason for them to say anything as Hiccup jumped onto the back of his dragon companion and they flew off into the night, wanting nothing more than to leave the worries of Berk behind them.

At least for the moment.

***Chapter four is done! I'm also on Spring Break at the moment so I hope to update again soon. I would love to hear what you guys think of the story so far and to tell me how I'm doing. Thank you for reading and have a great day!