In the forests surrounding New Berk, lived a young woman. She had been the only human inhabitant on the island for years after her mother had died. She knew the lay of the land and was content living on the island alone, but then one day strangers riding dragons arrived.
The young woman had never seen so many dragons before and only ever encountered them in brief passing as they shared fishing holes, and she had never seen so many people before. She hid out of view, watching the newcomers with curiosity as they began setting up camp.
Each day, she would watch these dragons and their riders, staying out of sight as she tried to learn about them. She had only ever been around her mother before, so having so many people nearby was both exciting but also terrifying to her.
It wasn't long after they had landed and gotten a decent camp built that things began to get chaotic. It seemed like the chief of these people and his dragon had brought their enemy to the shores of the monolithic island. While the chief and a small group of people with armor just like his took to the skies to deal with the issue, most of the people stayed behind- only the strongest going after them to assist in the fight.
The young woman took the opportunity to sneak a bit closer to the camp, her curiosity getting the better of her. She stepped quietly and carefully through the tents, one of her hands touching the fabric and the ropes as she inspected them while her staff was held close with the other.
One of the newcomers- a tall and broad-framed man with beefy arms marred with scars, neat dark brown hair, and a light blue tattoo upon his chin- that had stayed behind sensed that something was different in the area of their camp and began searching for the source. He was worried that their enemy, the man who was known as the Nightfury Killer, had sent someone else to their island while the Dragon Riders were distracted. He looked through the camp, between the tents- even in them briefly- and around the trees. He didn't see anything at first, but he must have gotten close to whoever was skulking about the camp as a rustle sounded nearby and he caught a glimpse of someone slipping behind a tree.
The young woman heard someone coming near where she was hiding and quickly ducked behind a tree. She sneaked her way forward and back into the forest, hoping she hadn't been spotted. As she got further from the camp, she heard something clink and peeked out from behind a tree- spotting the tall and broad-framed man from the camp apparently looking for her.
"I know someone is there," he called out, looking about with his swords drawn. "Save yourself the trouble and just come on out."
The young woman wasn't prepared to talk to anyone, so she tried to make her way forward and put some distance between her and this man.
The man heard a rustle up ahead of him and gave chase, figuring the "intruder" was one of the Nightfury Killer's men. He ran after whoever it was until he reached a large creek.
"Where are you..?" he wondered aloud, looking about.
With his back turned towards the river, the young woman took her chance and hopped across the creek using the stones sticking up through the crystal clear waters.
The man heard a splash behind him and spun around, spotting someone with long ashy blonde hair and clothing colored like the forest. He hurried across the creek in pursuit, chasing after this person until he came to a clearing in the trees.
"Stop!" he called, seeing the person hurrying across the clearing. When they stopped towards the center of the clearing, he stopped in his tracks when he finally got a good look at the person: a young woman, about the age of his chief, with long ashy blonde hair, fair skin, a small band of green drawn across the top of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She wore clothing colored in greens and browns like the forest around her, carried a wooden staff, and had a few pouches tied at her waist.
The young woman stared at the man who pursued her, unsure of what to do. She saw him relax a bit and sheath his swords, as though he sensed that she wasn't the threat he had first thought.
"Who are you?" He asked, stepping forward slowly, but the call of an owl sounded, and he looked to the skies to find it, he spotted a Boreal Owl. When he looked back to the clearing, the young woman was gone. "What the..? Where did she go?"
Up in a tree on the other side of the clearing, the young woman hid amongst the pine needled branches with the owl perched on her shoulder- her heart pounding. She waited and watched until the man began making his way back towards the camp, then looked at the owl perched on her shoulder.
"Well, Bera, what do you think?"
The owl ruffled her feathers and eyed her curiously.
"They don't seem like they are a threat, just people looking for a new start."
Bera the Boreal Owl dipped her head as though to nod in agreement, then took to the skies and followed her human companion as she put more distance between them and the newcomers' camp.