As promised, here's the next chapter. :D Can you believe it? I've actually finished this on time! I'm proud of myself.

I spent the whole day writing the rest of this chapter (I had the first two parts done but I wrote the rest today) and putting together the comic I told you about in the last update.

You can find it in my gallery. On deviantart, search for MissSharpenedSpikes. The image's called "Nala (OC) - Christmas card comic (attempt)".

misssharpenedspikes . deviantart art / Nala-OC-Christmas-card-comic-attempt-502930728

Unfortunatelly, this site hates URL's. Just remove the spaces and you should be fine.

Attention: This chapter is officially the longest yet! And, it's waaay past 4 000 words. Over 4 700, to be more specific. Impossible, right? 4K words!

So, on with the story, I hope you'll like it. Enjoy!

Tears. She hated crying. Perhaps for the simple reason that she cried too often for her own comfort. Whenever she felt desparate, lonely, home sick or angry, even when she was really happy, she started crying. So much for intimidation. A weak sobbing gal won't scare anyone. At least today she held herself pretty well. If his expression said anything, Hiccup was seriously afraid of her for a moment.

Oh, Hiccup, she thought. Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why can't we just tell each other all our secrets and be friends forever? Why can't I just start over again?

She didn't want to do what she's done, or say what she's said. But... she was so angry, the thought of the injustice, of how unfair the whole thing was-

She exploded.

I have to appologise to him later. If there will be a later.

The girl reached the cottage on top of the hill and slumped down on a bench at the small building. She brought her legs to her chest and hugged them with her arms. A sigh escaped her lips, as she watched the horizon. The wind was stronger up there. It chilled her slightly and her still wet cheeks were getting a little frosty. Nala didn't complain, as the chill helped her to calm down and compose herself, before she had to enter the hut. Sitting on the bench, looking in the distance, hair whipping and swirling around her face in the air where the wind played with it, mind adrift, completely lost in the moment, she felt free again. The sound of waves rolling over on the cold water down bellow, the splashing of ocen as it hit the rocks on Berk's shore, the fresh air itself radiated peace. Nala breathed deeply and imagined the cool air being sucked in her lungs, where it absorbed all her uneasyness, anger and fear, and then making it's exit out of her body through her nose, leaving all the peace and calmness inside her.

When she opened her eyes again with an exhale, she was completely at ease. She watched a couple of birds fly high above the village and then disappear into the woods. At that moment, something tugged at her heart and emotions flooded her mind as she tried to process the new warm feeling in her chest. No, she realized, not new. The feeling was old and dusty, almost forgotten under the pile of other, more current emotions, but she knew the warmth that spread in her chest very well. The place made her feel like nothing could stop her - something not much places could do. Rephrase: something only one place did so far.

I want to stay here.

The realisation hit her like the weight of a mountain. As much as she didn't want to believe it, as much as the truth seemed too cruel to be true, she could do nothing to change it. She arrived there not even three days ago and she already fell in love with the place. It had something special about it, something she longed for, something she felt like she could never live without. It felt like home.

Berk felt like home.

Sure, there was still the tiny "like". Berk would never be her home, no matter what. But it felt like it.

At last, she found a place where no one knew her, a place where she would gladly settle down, yet she was probably not going to be given the chance to do so.

At that moment, she made her decision. She will do whatever it takes to have a chance. No matter what.

Nala had no idea how long she sat there, only that the sun moven visibly in the sky by the time the door opened next to her, and a short, wrinkled lady hobbled out of the hut. Nala looked up right into the woman's eyes and hoped her own weren't still red and puffy from later, and that the old woman wouldn't find out she was crying.

The elder -Gothi, that's her name, Nala remembered - held the eye contact and her thin lips curled in a welcoming smile. She nodded her head and gestured with her staff for Nala to enter. The lady hobbled inside without a second glance and Nala followed her inside the hut.

It was warm there, the air smelt of various herbs hung from the ceiling, cracking of burning wood could be heard from the fireplace on the other side of the room. The wooden floor creaked under Nala's feet as she stepped in. The walls were all covered in shelves with books, pots, mugs, cups, herbs and many mysterious things which Nala wasn't sure if they were supposed to be ingredients for healing salves and ointments or just a decoration. She spotted a bed in the corner, a large chest next to it and wondered how such an old woman could open the heavy container. In the centre of the small room was a short round table, a couple of stools and an armchair.

Gothi walked over to the fire, and took a kettle hanging over it. She placed it on the small table, then hobbled over to a curtain on the wall, pulled it aside, revealing a second room Nala hasn't noticed before, and walked in. Unsure what to do, Nala quietely stood there, until the elder came back, with a plate, two cups on it, and set them next to the kettle. The short lady turned back to Nala and the girl decided it was the best time to speak now. She cleared her throat, bowed a little and said:

"Good afternoon, madam. You wanted to see me?"

The lady in question opened her mouth in what seemed like a chuckle, except she made no noise. She waved at Nala to come closer and the teen did as told.

Gothi looked her up and down, then started circling her, examining her features. She touched Hiccup's boots with her staff and her brows furrowed. Nala suddenly felt the urge to explain herself. "Hiccup let me borrow his boots, because mine were wet from the storm," she said. The elder nodded and continued her examination. The woman reached for her arm and when Nala didn't flinch away, she pulled it closer. She inpected it for a moment, then a frown settled on her face, as she poked Nala's stomach and both sides, probably noticing the girl's poor weight. The teen jumped, but tried to remain calm, for her future depended on it. Besides, the woman wasn't trying to make her uncomfortable, she simply wanted to be done with this quickly, Nala could see that.

Next, the elder stepped in front of her and lifted both her arms to the tall girl, so Nala dropped into a crouch. The wrinkled lady tugged at her hair, bringing her head closer to her face, running her hands over Nala's cheeks and forehead. Then she forced the girl's mouth wide open, ignoring her incoherent protests, looked deep in her throat and inspected the teeth.

When the old lady loosened her grip, Nala was finally able to free herself and she backed away from her tormenter. Luckily, Gothi seemed satisfied, as she went to sit at the armchair in the centre of the room. She poured herself some tea and leaned back in her seat. Her eyes locked with Nala's as she gestured with a nod of her head and a wave of her hand to the girl to sit down and have some tea.

With shaky steps Nala walked over to the little table, dragged one of the stools closer and sit down. She took the kettle form the table and poured some of the herbal liquid in her wooden cup, all the while feeling the elder's wise eyes on her. It was making her nervous, her hands trembled slightly. It felt like the woman could see right through her and into her very soul. Nala could imagine the wrinkled hands skimming through her memories like flipping pages of a book. The front pages old, blurred and dusty, just like her memories, and the closer she got to the present, the sharper and more focused the writing was.

Perhaps it was just her head messing with her. Nala's mother always said the girl had too big imagination for her own good.

Nala straightened herself in her seat and took a sip of her tea. To rid herself of the image of the elder reading her thoughts, she wondered: Why do these people keep giving me tea?

It's a great way of making someone talk, said a quiet little voice inside her head. Especially when there's added mead in it.

The woman won't drug her, right? If there was something in the drink, the elder would be drinking it too, so in the worst case, it was only alcohol. It was quite possible Nala was being paranoid, since she couldn't taste any alcohol in her drink, but she couldn't help it.

The silence was killing her. The room was warm, smelled nice and the old lady was simply sitting there, looking Nala in the eye, occasionaly taking a sip from her cup. The tea smelled nice too and it had an enjoyable taste. Nala felt great - that was the thing. She wasn't supposed to feel good in the stranger's company, but she did. She wasn't supposed to trust the woman.

When she couldn't stand the impossibly, uncomfortably comfortable silence, she cleared her throat and said the first thing she could think of, just for the sake of saying something.

"So, you wanted to see me, or talk to me?" she managed. She cast down her eyes, locking them on a splinter in the wooden floorboards. "Because I honestly have no idea how you want to get your answers without asking."

Nala managet to lift her gaze again and she saw the elder smiling knowingly at her. The old lady's eyes sparkled with amusement, as the teen in front of her realized she had to answer unspoken questions. Somehow, she knew exactly what the woman meant, what she wanted to hear. But how much exactly was enough for the elder to let her stay with the village? Nala's heart hammered against her ribcage, thoughts swirled around in her head.

What if she won't say enough? What if she'll say too much? Will the woman really keep her secerts to herself, if that happened?

Calm down, jumpy, said the rational part of her brain. Nervosity won't help you now. Focus.

It was a beautiful day. Few creamy clouds covered the sun, which ocasionaly peeked around the stark white pillow-like mass. Light breeze was bending the grass, tilting the trees. The forest was quiet at the moment. All animals, big and small either ran a safe distance away, or hid in the bushes, covering in fear of a pissed dragon's wrath.

Not that they had anything to worry about. Apart form the occasional blind plasma blast, the night fury's rampage focused on the cove only, as it was the only place within it's reach.

Damn hatchling!

The dragon shrieked as he was falling to the ground once again. With a loud thud and an angry growl, the night fury crash-landed on his right wing. A jolt of pain shot through his wing and backside. He lifted his back so he could pull the wing from under his body. His wings, muscles, claws and tail hurt from his constant (and futile) attempts to get out of his prison.

Yes, that's right. The dragon was stuck in there. He couldn't climb out, the walls were too steep and there wasn't enough cracks for him to climb on. He couldn't fly away either. His left tailfin was missing.

When the rope curled around his limbs, he thought he was going to die. He was falling down and down, unable to do anything to stop the fall. He crashed and the pain blinded him, he couldn't see anything but darkness, couldn't hear anything over the ringing in his ears. He could feel nothing but the pain jolting through his body. His screeching died in his throat, he couldn't even scream. He just stayed still, kept his eyes shut tight and begged for it to end.

He finally lost his consciousness and thought he was coming to Syx to be judged by the Great Dragoness of the Sky, but then he woke up again. His whole body ached and his limbs were still bound. The pain wasn't as bad as before, but he was awake again and it went on and on and on. It was torture. He knew he was going to die sooner or later. Bound, stuck on the spot, waiting for some bigger wolf or a daring lynx to come and get him. Maybe nothing will find him and he'll die of starvation or dehydration.

If the two-legs find him, he's as good as dead too.

Then the puny two-leg hatchling found him. Were all young two-legs that scrawny? He didn't think so. When the toothpick stood over him, however, he felt fear creeping into his very soul, like a snake curling around its prey. He looked at the little thing standing above him, praying, begging, of all the things, for something, anything to stop the boy from murdering him on the spot. Of all the dragons, he, a shadow-hunter! The majestic night-wings did not beg.

There's a first time for everything, apparently.

He looked deep into the green eyes-

strange, he thought at the moment, I never knew two-legs could have green eyes too.

-hoping he'll change his mind. And for a moment, it looked like he will. But then he lifted his tiny sword-

Oh Fengur, it's going to hurt being killed with that stingy thing.

-and closed those strange two-leg eyes of his. The night fury closed his eyes too, accepting his fate, waiting for the final jolt of pain to come.

It never did. Instead, the bindings tangled around his limbs were loosening. He snapped his eyes wide open, staring at the two-leg releasing him. He couldn't believe it! Was it a gift from the gods? Or was this hatchling trying to beat him in a fair fight? He didn't bother to find those answers. As soon as his legs were free, he pinned the two-leg to the ground, glaring at him, wishing to be able to kill him with his stare.

He doesn't know why he's done it. Perhaps it was pity for the wee thing, perhaps he was just afraid to kill the gift from the gods. Perhaps he was just soft after the shock he's been through. But the two-leg let him go, gave him a second chance, however small, to live. It wasn't fair to kill the skinny being like that, not after it gave him another chance. So he let the two-leg go.

That doesn't mean he's not mad at him, of course. Or that he doesn't regret it.

When he found out his tailfin was gone, he panicked. He tried desperately to get out of the cove, screeching, clawing at the walls, biting at the roots hanging from the edges, taking off again and again, shooting plasma blasts all around in his rampage, not caring where they landed or what it killed. He worn out himself and collapsed onto the ground, falling asleep sooner than his head hit the ground.

He woke up in the evening, hurting even more than before. He couldn't even walk. All he could do was crawl on his belly to the small lake in the middle of the cove, drink up as much water as he could and then wash what remained of his tailfin, hoping to avoid infection. He curled around, licking his tail and fell asleep again, hoping he'll be abe to get out the next morning.

Now, rested and remotely fine, he tried again. But there was no use. Without his tailfin, he won't get out.

What an ungracefull way to die, he thought, looking up to the sky. He watched as the wind carried the clouds in the air. Trapped, like a mere beast in a cage, with nothing to eat. Maybe once he's recovered, he'll be able to catch some fish in the lake. But what if there isn't enough to feed him? Perhaps some animals come to the lake to drink. He could hide in the shadows and then pounce.

Still, what kind of life would it be, living the rest of his life alone in the mossy prison?

THUD

He froze, pricked up his ears and waited, listening.

SNAP

He heard it again, something was coming from the further end of the cove. Realizing it might be his last chance to get a decent meal, the dragon quickly got up and jumped to hide on a nearby rock.

THUD

SHUFFLE

SPLASH

A fish?! How did a fish get-

He silently rolled his eyes in his hiding spot, when the intruder came into his field of view.

Him again? Why did the blasted hatchling come back? He'll scare of all the animals!

Ah, those disgusting humans, always getting in the way. I want a deer, not you, you two-legged wimp!

"I should probably just start at the beggining."

Nala sat on a stool opposite the village's elder, her hands clasped tightly around a cup of tea. The liquid wasn't hot anymore - she sat there for a while now, long enough for it to cool down. The old woman never said anything, not even gesturing for her to begin talking already. She simply kept smiling at Nala, waiting for when she's ready to start talking. The girl was thankful for that, it really helped her to calm down. Taking one more deep breath, she finally found the will to speak up.

"My name is-" Nala caught herself mid-sentence, realizing she won't get away with her usual lie, not this time. "My name isn't Nala, but I want others to call me that." She studied the elder's face carefully, but the woman wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead, she looked into the fire with a blank expression on her face. As she continued, Nala gazed into the fire too.

"I come from a small island, you probably never heard of it. It's called the Lettermulan and it's located - I think - North-northwest from Berk." Nala paused to look at the elder again and found her smiling at her in curiosity. So she hasn't heard of the island, Nala thought.

"It's a part of the Owlhead tribe, even though the tribe's main island is a little far away."

"Living there wasn't easy, but then again, is it ever? The problem is, Lettermulan is the closest inhabited island from the Helheim's gate. Raids were, and still probably are, the main people's concern. Everyone on the island was trained to fight sooner or later."

"Not much crops could grow there, because it's located too north and the weather's too cold. The island's too small for hunting deer and other forest animals, it could never feed the whole village. Most of the men were fisherman's. We had a few farmers, but as I said, it wasn't an easy job. It was needed, though. There were also two or three traders, who used to sail to other islands to exchange our products for other goods, mostly crops and livestock. I never saw the point in buying more sheep or yak, the dragons always went after them during the raids, but after a few years, I've realized we were quite capable of fending the dragons of without much loss."

There was a quiet pause and Nala wondered if the woman opposite her is really interested in hearing more about Lettermulan or if she's just pretending her patience and is waiting for Nala to start talking about herself. It looked like the elder was honestly interested in the small island, but Nala wasn't sure.

Truth to be told, the girl talked about the island that was once her home only to calm down and get used to talking about the past. Even though she wasn't giving away information on her past but her home, it was still connected to her and it was making her uneasy. It was nice to finally have someone to talk about it, the elder was really nice and the tea tasted very good, but-

Thinking of which, she needed to get more of it, her cup was empty.

She got up, showed her empty cup to the elder and asked: "Can I have some more?" The old lady nodded, so Nala took the kettle from the round table next to her and poured herself some more tea.

"I am talking in past tense," she said as she was sitting down again, "because I left the island two years ago. I can tell you only that much about the island and I can't guarantee it hasn't changed when I was gone."

The woman studied her face, so Nala quickly looked away, the elder's gaze was really unnerving now. She had to look her in the eyes, she knew it. Although she didn't want to, it was important Gothi believed what Nala had to say. She locked her eyes with the old lady's calculating gaze and forced herself to calm down.

"A few months before my sixteenth birthday, I was taken from my home. I tried to come back, but when I did, something horrible happened. There was my older brother, and I-" the words stuck in her throat. She bit her lip to hold back the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. It didn't help much.

Oh boy, how she hated that memory.

"I did something I'll regret for the rest of my life," she said quietly. She had to stop talking now. Whenever she felt like crying, she couldn't talk. If she did, she'd sob and weep and wail and, and- She'd look like a wreck.

That was definitely not an option right now.

The room went quiet, except for the crackling of the fire and Nala's uneven breathing.

"I'll be 17 in a few months," she said when she was sure it was safe to talk again. "I was born two weeks before Snoggletog. My mother, Magnhildra, wanted to make sure I'll be the best wife-to-be of choice in the village, so she spent a lot of time preparing me. She's done an amazing job, without her, I'd be twice as lazy as I am. I never married only because I was taken away before it could happen."

"I know how to knit, mend, weave, cook, bake, and although I don't like it, I can do pretty much any cleaning around the house. I know the basics of treating wounds. With some training, I can help farmers or fishermen. I'm a little out of practice, but I can handle a sword pretty well and I have some experience with a bow too. I have great experience with the use of... ehm, unusual materials. I can make myself helpful."

"My point is, I've been travelling for almost two years. I want to forget and settle down. Berk seems to me like a great place to start a new life. I'd be valuable for the tribe and I promise I don't mean any harm to the people of Berk.

The elder slowly nodded, deep in thought.

What was it supposed to mean? Nala had no idea, she just hoped it was good news.

Will the elder allow her to stay with the tribe? Will she get kicked out? What would she do if that happened? Probably just keep going. She'd pack up, say goodbye to Hiccup, catch a ride in the morning and leave Berk. Hiccup...

She still needed to apologize for how she snapped at him. I'll do it as soon as I get back to his house, Nala decided.

Sitting there, waiting for the elder to decide, she watched the flames dance in the fireplace. She always liked fire. Its warmth often calmed her down when she was scared. As a little girl, she was terrified of losing her mother. Other kids were scared of thunderstorms, trolls or dragons, but not her.

She used to have a nightmare, it was same every time. In it, she woke up very early in the morning, it was still dark outside. It was quiet, she couldn't hear anything. She got up from her bed and went to her parent's room. On the bed, she could see only her mother's sleeping figure laying on the bed sheets with her back turned to her. The body was exposed, someone kicked the covers off the bed during the night. Nala walked to the bed, but when she touched her mother's arm, the body turned to ashes. Then a gust of wind blew the ashes in her face and she started choking on them.

She usually woke up after that.

She'd always go downstairs to the fireplace. If the fire was still burning, she'd add more fuel. If she had to, she'd start a new fire again. Usually her mother would find her there, sitting at the fire, arms hugging her knees. Magnhildra would sit next to her, take Nala into her lap and tell her everything's okay and that she loves her. They sat like that often, staring into the flames. Sometimes, they would sing together, quietly, so they won't wake up Nala's father and brothers.

A low thud cut off her train of thoughts and she blinked in surprise. She looked up to see the elder hitting her staff against the wooden floor once more, to catch Nala's attention. "Yes?" she asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.

The old woman gestured to the door and nodded. Nala looked between the door and the elder, and stuttered, her voice faltering: "I- you mean, the... I can go now?" The elder nodded again, smiling. Nala cleared her throat, put her cup down on the table beside the kettle, dusted off her pants and stood up.

"So, thank you for the tea," she said, unsure what to say, "I'll go now." She shuffled her feet and hugged her sides with her arms. "Would you mind telling me if I can stay or not?" She hoped it didn't sound as choked as she thought.

The woman smiled knowingly at her, nodded and lifted her point finger threateningly, as if saying: For now, yes. But I'll keep an eye on you.

Nala let out the breath she didn't realize she's been holding and smiled back. "Thank you. I won't cause trouble, I promise." In a more serious tone, she added: "And I promise I won't willingly do anything against the village or people of Berk, and I'll keep the tribe's well being in mind."

Did you like it? I hope you did!

Again, I beg you all to review, as your support means the world to me and this fic needs reviews to keep going smoothly. It's Christmas! You wouldn't let me down on Christmas, would you?

I also need to make something clear. Not for you, but for me. Remember the "Hiccup, Astrid, Nala romance" thing? Well, now I'm asking you to vote in your reviews. Tell me what you want to read!

You have these options:

1) The good old Hiccstrid

2) The not-so-common Hiccup x OC

3) No romance at all

4) The I-don't-care option

5) A crazy love triangle, Nala the winner at the end

6) A crazy love triangle, Astrid the winner at the end

7) A crazy love triangle, I-don't-care-who-wins-in-the-end (basically, you just want the drama and humor that comes with love triangles)

How to vote?

In your review, write this: VOTING - (*insert numbers 1-7 here*) + tell me if you'd still continue reading this story in case I decided to go with a different option than you chose.

I'm sorry if you think Astrid's a bit too rough or violent it this story, I didn't mean her to be that way. But think about it, she's the only one who ever questioned Hiccup's sudden success in dragon training. Why wouldn't she be suspicious and potentially hostile when Nala arrived?

Also, do you think I should name each chapter, or should I just keep the numbers?

Thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows!

See ya,

~MissSharpenedSpikes