"If I remember correctly, today's supposed to be summer."

Gobber, who was by the dying fire, whined. The burning wood was growing weaker as seconds pass by. Hiccup couldn't agree more with his statement. If there was one thing he knew was that today was supposed to be sunny out. He already had plans on going out to bask in the warmth of the sun. To everyone's surprise, a storm came up not long after.

Gathered under the sturdy hall were the residents of the island. Every man, woman, and child were present in the room, taking refuge in the shelter. Their homes didn't didn't stand a chance against the harsh weather conditions outside. This time, it was much worse than the extreme winter that happened the last few years.

Logs and more wood were chucked into the dwindling flame, but it did little to generate sufficient heat for the rest of them. Even inside, if by the door, one could see their breath come out in clouds of smoke. "Nine months of winter, people."

"Well, it shouldn't be this long or this freakishly cold." Snotlout reminded them, obnoxiously pushing his way through them to get a spot by the hearth. True, the gentlest wind could sting any bare skin exposed to the cold. This was enough to raise questions about the sudden change in climate.

The Thorston twins nodded in agreement. Both were sat by each other, digging into their meal. The two were fortunate enough to come back alive from their recent flight. It came with a cost, a broken arm to be exact.

With her back to the pillar, Astrid simply clutched the lukewarm mug in her hand, keeping her fingers around it. The cup didn't burn like it used to, the way she wanted it to be. Still, steam rose from her drink as she inhaled the soothing smell. Her hands were yet to gain any feeling after having spent the day zipping through the sky.

Fishlegs rubbed his hands together to gain some semblance of warmth. He was about to drop some thought provoking questions and he needed the warm-up. "Is it possible that a new breed of dragons have emerged? Or there's another Alpha dragon out there?"

"As if that's possible. There is only two in existence." Gobber guffawed at the boy's remark. Every soul in Berk had heard his thought but barely paid him any mind.

Upon hearing this, the chieftain scratched his chin in thought. There was no denying that dragons are rare to find, especially when in hiding. They never really searched the entire world yet. "There is a possibility, so it's not really impossible."

All eyes were on him. The crackling wood was the only thing that filled in the silence between them.

His former crush - he never truly felt that way for her - was the first to speak, putting an end to this quiet. "We don't know that." she came off as cool as she had always been.

"And that's why we should go and check it out." Fishlegs suggested. The rest of their group shared a look. From behind them, Eret, the newest addition to the team, sipped his mug as quietly as he could. Watching the scene unfold before him was really amusing. To top it all off, Fishlegs appeared to be pretty invested in the idea and was tempted to go and see it for himself.

Astrid shot him a deadly glare. There was no way she would let them leave in order to investigate. Surely nothing good would come out of it. "Don't give him any ideas. You'll only encourage him."

"I'm merely stating the facts here. Imagine countless breeds out there, in a place where no one would go." Hiccup figured. Going out to find them wouldn't do him any harm.

"Sounds stupid." Tuffnut commented, poking around his food with his good hand. "Count me in." his sister rolled her eyes. The twins would exchange a few faces with his sister, and without another word, Ruffnut stuck a tongue out at him.

"Why are we even having this conversation?" Astrid was about to blow a fuse at this point.

"To come up with conspiracies?" Snotlout answered in a mocking tone. "You guys are taking this thing way too seriously, if not, personally."

"Can you explain why it's so freezing then?" Hiccup hated how they were treating the matter as if it wasn't important at all. The storm wasn't they could so easily brush off.

Right when they were about to enter into an actual debate, Eret decided to butt in. "I hear it's coming from the south. Some say an enchatress did it. Cursed the land, something along those lines."

Those still around were surprised. A single sorcerer capable of conjuring such a powerful calamity? Hiccup himself encountered those who practices magic and dark arts alike. It doesn't sound unlikely. To him, that is.

"Is this some kind of joke to you?" who would go as far as make these things up? How was that information helping? Who would believe such a thing? It made absolutely no sense.

Fishlegs wanted to test this theory out. Curiosity got the better of their friend. "We should really go check it out."

"If we didn't die from hypothermia first," countered Ruffnut. "Which would be awesome if we did."

Astrid was about to lose it. Bringing her mug forcefully down on the table, it was enough to draw attention from the group. She has had enough of this nonsense. "Were any of you even listening?"

Among the fair amount of listeners they have attracted, one of them was none other than Hiccup's mother herself. Behind her were a group of individuals who had volunteered to join her. The doors to the hall tore open, a gust of wind piercing through the most of them, putting out any torches that remained lit. This very nearly extinguished the weakened flames at the center of the hearth. Immediately, those who were by the doors hurried to bolt it shut.

Snow stuck to their cloaks, and more dusting their hair and eyelashes. Removing their vests coated in snow, Valka pulled her helmet off. She, along with her men, seemed to be shivering. "I have. And to make this clear, none of you are to set foot in the snow. The winds are as nasty as ever." Valka knew firsthand what could happen, should anyone head off into the sky or do so much as being out in the open for too long.

"All of you are to stay put, understand? We don't know what awaits on your way to find it." said Valka, who then shifted her gaze to her son. She herself knew him, for he was her child - their minds worked almost the same. He was bound to explore what had caused such dreary weather. This brought her to a decision to forbid him to. "As for you, Hiccup, you are to stay here, for the sake of our people."

Of course, this shocked his son. And miss out on all the fun? Let her get all the adventures? There was no way he would allow that. They still had some catching up to do.

"We might have an actual chance at stopping the storm." he claimed, without having any second thoughts of going back on his word. "If there's a sorcerer behind this like what Eret said, we may be able to handle this one."

"Don't go dragging me into this. It's just a rumor, after all." the former trapper defended himself. "We barely have any proof to show for it."

"Please, son, this isn't something to be taken lightly." his mother exhaled a breath of air she'd been holding. He may have been the chief, but this puts him in a difficult spot. His mother offered him advice, and it is up to him whether or not he should follow. Naturally, he would obey and do what he is told. It was only fitting if he did. "Dealing with blizzards is beyond our power and far from what we can do."

Once again, one of his friends suggested. "Hiccup, I think we should leave everything to the grownups and sit this one out."

"May the gods have mercy on us."

A heavy hand was placed on Hiccup's shoulder. He turned to find Gobber behind him. "I'll keep an eye on him for ye."

Without another word, they were off.

Hiccup's brows were pressed so close together, frowning as he gazed from out of the window to Gobber's workshop. It wasn't far from their warm haven or the pen that housed their dragons.

The windows were sealed to keep the chilly wind from getting in. He could barely see through the fogged up glass, only these blurry figures. The fire may be warm, but it served to be of no use. Not that he was complaining. He nearly froze, turned into a block of ice, and survived. This? This was nothing compared to what he had been through in the past.

But the scowl on his face remained and didn't seem to fade. It was time to set their plan into motion, he guessed. If he wanted to escape, he better have someone from the outside.

The twins, who happened to be in the room as well, had their dragon for a checkup. After what happened, it was appropriate if they did. Falling off the back of his dragon and crashing into the snow guaranteed injury. And Barf broke a tooth as well.

"Hey," he finally said. The twins lifted their gaze to look him in the eye. He nodded, signalling to them in this cryptic message while the blacksmith had his back to them. Luckily, the two managed to decipher what he was trying to say.

"We better go. There's something we, uh, need to take care of." Ruffnut excused themselves to help up her brother, and lend him her arm. Gobber had wrapped Tuffnut's bad arm with a cloth and a stick, so his sister won't bother elevating his arm when he needed to, and he would not risk a visit at Gothi. Hiccup escorted them up until the door.

"What was with those two?" Gobber asked, as he hurriedly closed the door behind him.

"They, uh, maybe had to, well," the younger man struggled to find his words. "They had to go?" he sounded as though he himself didn't have the slightest idea why.

"Did they tell you anything?" the older among the two of them asked, as if he found their scheme to suspicious.

"Didn't you see how silent the two of them were?" but the chief didn't really care.

"I know what might cheer ye up!" said Gobber, breaking into his train of thoughts. He declined several invitations, dozens of offers, and many more of what the man had to propose. He was done with his crazy antics. "Trading ships are comin' with loads of trinkets and parts you used to liked."

"Doubt it. With this ridiculous storm going on? Please, we have all what we need right here on Berk." muttered the boy.

"Aye, lad, but ye don't have what you want." Gobber eyed him. "What do ye want?"

"I want to get out of here and find where all this snow is coming from."

"There's no stopping you then."

Gobber returned to pounding his dentist tools on the aching hideous zippleback dragon's tooth some more, and Hiccup was getting bored by the minute. The chieftain had had his eyes wandering restlessly around the room, probably searching for a possible exit. He blocked every doors and windows quietly after Hiccup settled into his seat, and barricaded every possible exit before they even entered. It was to keep him locked in, before he'd go all insane. But he was starting to be, and he would, at some point, go all mad.

Adventure awaits him beyond those doors.

"Don't worry much about it. Everything will turn out perfectly fine-"

"Worry no more, my friend, for we have news!" Fishlegs threw the door wide open, enough for Snotlout to squeeze in. Hiccup heard all what he needed to hear, and off he went. Pushing his way through the two, he managed to escape Gobber's little clinic for dragons.

No one in their right mind would even dare think about flying out this late. Apparently, Hiccup already lost his.

"I'm about to head where the storm is from! Don't tell my mom about this!" Hiccup yelled over his shoulder all the while running down the steep steps.

On his way to where his dragon was, he passed Eret. "If you're off looking for the source, it's that way. South from here." Hiccup tipped his head in thanks. "Go get your friend. He's nearby. And we'll keep them busy for you."

"I owe you one!"

"Good luck!"

This bought him extra time and the opportunity to gear up. It wasn't long until he found Toothless waiting for his owner. Before Gobber could catch up to him, he was already in the air. "There we go, bud, nice and easy." the Nightfury's wings started to carry them, and they took off like a bullet. Hiccup vanished into the clouds, weaving in and out of them with ease, much to his surprise.

"Hiccup! You're not supposed to ride south!" their instructor tailed behind in a much slower pace, all thanks to Eret and company. Gobber could only watch his former apprentice fly into the clouds. He should have known those twins were up to something! From the back of his mind, he this wasn't going to end well.

And Hiccup was gone.

Author's Note (EDITED): Regarding Hiccup's relationship with Astrid, they have come to an understanding that they're not really that into each other and are in need of space. Rest assured, no drama happened between them. I'm planning on covering their sort of breakup, but that would be for later. Also, the next few chapter is something really to look forward to!

And wow, this chapter was due last month, but apparently, I was too caught up with stuff. Expect update on a monthly basis! And again, feedback is always appreciated. Thank you for your time!

Have a lovely day! ❤