A.N- Hello! Who's ready for chapter 7?! Well, hopefully you are, because here it is! And guess what day it is. Saturday! Yay! She updated it on time! It's probably a good thing I already had this chapter done because I still haven't finished chapter 8 yet. I kinda forgot that this past week was the end of my school's 3rd quarter so I've been pretty busy (and stressed) this week. But since it's now spring break, I'll have plenty of free time to finish it out since y family made no plans. If I still don't get it done, then shame on me. Anyways, enjoy! And Stay Awesome!


Chapter 7

Welcome to Berk

The next morning, Hiccup awoke from the high screeches and growls of Terrible Terrors on the roof. Astrid must've been awake already by the signs of her empty side of the bed. She always was an early bird. Making his way down the stairs to meet her, he noticed her absence when seeing her chair at the table was empty. "She must've taken off to help with the ice." he thought. "I guess I better go help Spitelout out at his house."

Before exiting the house, Hiccup thought of a way to better hide the scales on his neck, which haven't grown much since yesterday. Taking a strip of bandage, he smeared some "Healing Gel" on one side before placing the slimy side of it onto the back of his neck. His idea succeeded when the cloth stuck to his neck, the gel acting as glue.

When Hiccup walked outside, expecting to be greeted by Toothless, he found the yard empty. He figured the Night Fury must've gone to one of the feeding stations and began traveling to Spitelout's on foot. Not too long into his walk over, Hiccup was given an unpleasant greeting when someone ran into him and knocked both of them onto the ground. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" quickly said a high feminine voice.

"That's ok." replied Hiccup. "I've done worse damage." He looked up to the one responsible for their fall, but could only see the silhouette of the person above him with the sun behind. The only part of the body he could see clearly was the small hand reaching out to help him up, which he gladly accepted. Now standing on both his real and artificial foot, he could now see the features of the teenage girl standing in front of him.

She looked to be at least 16 years of age. She stood a little over his shoulders and had long, messy dark brown hair that didn't even seem to be decorated with a braid. Her hair matched with her chocolate brown eyes surrounded by a freckle-free face. She wore a teal, obviously worn out tunic with a dark brown vest, most likely made from bear skin. Her legs were covered with torn black pants and wore an old pair of light brown boots that were decorated with holes. The only thing that didn't seem worn out and in need of attention was the necklace wore around her neck, which looked to be a dragon's tooth, presumably a Terrible Terror's. The only other thing that surprised Hiccup other than her slightly feral appearance was her unfamiliar face.

"Have we ever met? I don't recognize you."

She shook her head. "No, none of you would. I'm actually from another village. I was just on my way to see the Chief, who someone told me was that way, to see if he'd let me stay."

"Well, you've found him. I'm actually Berk's Chief."

Her eyes widened. Now she felt guiltier for running into him. Good first impression! "O..oh. I..I..I'm really s..sorry f..ff..for running i..int..to you." She stuttered. She was sure he would have turned her down in the first place. If not then, now he definitely would. But she was surprised by his next response.

"That's alright. People make mistakes. I guess I should be the first to say, 'Welcome to Berk!'"

Her mouth was agape. She had gone to other villages to hopefully find her place and every chief turned her down, and not politely either. "Wait, what?! I can stay? Just like that?" Hiccup nodded. She was so happy, the first thing she did was cling her arms around his neck and embrace him in a hug. She soon let go when she realized she was suffocating him, apologizing for the third time.

"So, what's your name? Hiccup asked when he could breathe again.

"Dyina. Dyina Hopinskin." She happily replied.

"Well, nice to meet you, Dyina. I'm Hiccup." He shook his hand with hers. "I'd like to stay and chat but I've got houses to repair. You're free to tag along. Maybe we can introduce you to Gobber on our way. He may even give you a job." Dyina wasn't 100% sure of what he was talking about, but figured she'd soon find out. But before they could travel deeper into the village, they'd first have to go around the Night Fury blocking their way.

Dyina's eyes went wide as saucers at the sight of the magnificent beast, who hadn't noticed them behind his back. "Oh yeah," said Hiccup. "Probably should have mentioned something to you." Hearing his rider's voice, Toothless spun around and tackled Hiccup to the ground, drenching his face in a thick coat of saliva.

"Oh my gods!" Dyina shouted when the dragon had attacked. Although she carried no weapon, she would do her best to save the Chief. She charged at the Night Fury and jumped on his back, trying to pull him away from the man on the ground. Toothless had noticed the extra weight on his back and stepped away from Hiccup to see what it was. It was hard for him to turn his head so far, but did catch the sight of some tangled, brown hair. "Don't hurt him!" Dyina continued to shout. She didn't realize the dragon had retreated from his human until she saw Hiccup standing next to her, covered in spit.

Seeing her confused glance, Hiccup told her, "Here at Berk, we have dragons as our friends."

She quickly looked back at the dragon, who looked to be smiling at her. "Oh, sorry." She said to Toothless as she climbed off. She turned back to Hiccup, who was now trying his best to wipe off the dragon's slobber. "So dragons are like your guys' pets?" Hiccup nodded, embracing himself for her next reaction. "AWESOME!" Okay, so maybe he didn't expect that response.

"You're not scared?" he asked, patting Toothless on the head.

"Of course not! I think dragons are cool! I've been fascinated by them ever since I was really little, even after the times I was almost blasted to death during raids! And a Night Fury? They're probably one of my favorites!"

Hiccup never imagined the day he would meet a stranger who was this into dragons. He wasn't even like this at his age! And to think she'd be afraid of Toothless. Wait a minute. "How did you know Toothless was a Night Fury?"

Her smile began to sag as she tried to think of a reason why. "Oh…umm…hmm…" was the response Hiccup got from her. "I don't really know. Maybe I've seen it in a book or something. If I did, it's been awhile."

Hiccup wasn't really sure if she was telling the whole truth, but forgot about it. If she was going to be part of their tribe, he needed to learn to trust her. "Ok then. Since Toothless is here with us, would you like a ride?"

Dyina couldn't resist. "Yes!"

Hiccup switched his leg to "flying mode" before hopping aboard the saddle of his dragon. Locking his prosthetic in place, he proceeded to help Dyina onto the spot behind him. "Alright." he said. "Hold on tight!" and they were up over the buildings with the Viking below. Hiccup couldn't help but smile at the girl's face when she looked down at all the dragons on the roofs.

The two soon arrived at Gobber's workshop, which was a slow morning of business.

"Morning, Gobber!" Hiccup shouted from outside.

The blond, peg-legged Viking hobbled out to greet the Chief. "Mornin', Hiccup." he said. "Come to help in the workshop today, I see."

"Sorry, Gobber. I told Spitelout I'd help finish repairing his house, but I did bring someone who might be able to work with you." Hiccup climbed down from the Toothless' back, revealing the teenager who was sitting behind him.

"Who's this?" Gobber asked.

"This is Dyina." Hiccup replied, helping the girl down.

"When did she get here?"

"This morning." she said. "The sun wasn't even up, yet."

"How did you get here?"

Hiccup was thinking of answering for her, but wasn't even sure himself. "Yeah, how?"

Dyina's heart beat accelerated. "I had a boat." she lied. "It kinda got beat up on the way here. This was its last trip. I landed over on the other side of the island on the beach."

"Dyina, I meant to ask earlier, but are you with anyone else?" Hiccup had a guess of what her answer would be, but was a little sad when it was proven correct with a shake of her head. How could a girl so young be left on her own? That explains her gruesome look.

"Well come on in." Gobber said to her. "Let's get ya more presentable. No 'fense, but your attire isn't exactly, um, pleasant."

"Yeah, I know. These were the only clothes I have."

"Well, not fer long. Follow me."

"See ya, Hiccup!" Dyina waved goodbye.

Hiccup waved back before getting back on his dragon. "Come on, bud. Let's get to Spitelout's before he gets too impatient." Immediately, the duo took to the skies.

Back in the workshop, Gobber had found some articles of clothing in some of his boxes and handed them to Dyina, whom which they didn't fit. Luckily for her, her mother had showed her how to sow when she was little and could still remember how to do some things. Grabbing a needle and thread, she began revising the pieces of clothing into more fitting and somewhat more fashionable clothes.

While she poked the needle back and forth into the fabric, she couldn't to think about her response in how she got here. I mean, it wasn't a complete lie. The event did happen once in her life, just not recently. She couldn't tell him the actual way she had gotten there, at least not yet. Even though these people lived with dragons, she wasn't sure if they'd accept her if she told them, mainly Hiccup, the truth.

She was drawn away from her thoughts when she felt something sharp poke her finger, creating a small drop of blood. She decided to focus back on her work to avoid being pricked by the needle again. She had other worries in her life that needed attention, such as getting this done and later looking for shelter to take refuge under.