Hiccup and Toothless landed in the forest and began to search for some sign of the Skrill. It had behaved rather oddly but Hiccup wanted it gone from Berk. Skrills were far too dangerous, not only to the people, but to Toothless. And should Dagur discover there was a Skrill on Berk... He'd come for it. Hiccup and the tribe had suffered enough at Dagur's hand. Never again Hiccup swore. Toothless let out a deep growl, he sensed something. Hiccup drew his sword and stepped forward carefully as something small tumbled out of the bushes.

A small girl stood before him. She stared at him with wide, scared eyes. In the darkness he could not make out their colour but somehow he felt they were familiar.

"What are you doing here? Where have you come from? Who are you?" He asked her. She looked from him to Toothless and back again. "He won't hurt you I promise." He said. "Now who are you?"

The girl seemed a little uncertain. Toothless was watching her intently, as if trying to decide if he trusted her or not. His eyes were narrowed and he stared at her.

"Toothless, easy bud. You'll scare her if you keep looking at her like that." Hiccup said placing a gentle hand on his head. Toothless blinked and his expression softened and he let out a low contented rumble.

Camicazi listened. The Night Fury was making the same happy sound as Sparky did. It seemed happy, but it couldn't be. She'd been told it was miserable. Maybe it just didn't know any better. She stared at the man before her. He didn't look like the monster she'd been told about. He was smaller built than most Vikings, he had a missing leg and as he leaned against the dragon he changed the lower attachment to one which allowed him to walk more easily. His hair fell over his head as he pulled off his helmet and she saw his eyes. They did not look cold and ruthless; in fact, her father's eyes were colder than his. It was in contrast with everything she knew about him. But she knew looks could be deceiving, she was proof of that.

"How about giving us a bit of light bud?" he said to the dragon who sent a blast at a small rock on the ground, making it glow. A gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it. He had green eyes.

There were not many people with green eyes as far as she knew, she'd only ever seen one person on Hysteria besides herself with green eyes, but the man had been a slave and she'd seen him only once. Yet here stood Hiccup, with green eyes. They were warm and friendly and he smiled at her. No one smiled at her.

"It's ok; I didn't mean to frighten you. Where have you come from?" he asked her kindly.

"Far away." She said. If he knew where she'd come from she'd never be able to do what was necessary.

"Hey you can speak! Ok, where far away? How did you end up here?" He was still smiling at her, it unnerved her. It was a genuine and warm smile, something she had not seen since... since her mother.

"Where is here?" She asked despite knowing full well. She decided that the little washed up act might work.

"This is Berk. My name is Hiccup, I'm chief of the tribe here."

"Berk? I am a long way from home."

"Well how did you get to be so far from home? We'll get you back, don't worry."

"No!" She yelped, planning everything in her head, she needed his trust, his sympathy. She needed a way in. "Please don't make me go back there! Please I'm begging you!"

"Why don't you want to go back?"

"I... I ran away." She said thinking on her feet. "Girls and women are not treated well on my island. I get hit a lot and the older I get, the worse it will become. I ran away so they cannot hurt me anymore. I stole a small boat to escape, but got lost in a storm, the next thing I remember was washing up on the beach here."

"It's ok, you're safe here. We'll look after you. No one is going to hurt you now. Come on, I'll take you to the village, we'll get you fed and watered and let you rest. I'm sure you're very tired and drained." She eyed him uncertainly. She needed to find Sparky, but here was her way in.

"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you aren't going to hurt me, to go back on your word?"

"Ok, here." He passed her his sword and his shield. "You're armed and I'm not. Just let me take you to the village, my wife will help look after you I'm sure." She felt surprised by him; he handed over his weapons and defences without hesitation and yet still smiled. Nodding slightly uncertainly she stepped forward to follow him as he mounted the dragon.

"Alright bud, take it easy ok? She's been through a lot." He switched leg attachments again and clicked it into place on the stirrup on the dragon's saddle. It was connected to the dragon's tail and she saw where the tail was artificial. She stared at it horrified.

"I'm sorry to say it's my fault he's missing that part of his tail. But over the years I've managed to make it so he can fly solo. Sometimes though, he still likes me to be in control. But in the end it all evens out, he has only half a tail, and I have half a leg. Oddly enough though, it just makes us stronger." She stared for a minute longer; she was starting to question some of what she had been told by her father. But she would not fail in her mission. She climbed onto the Night Fury's back without a problem, letting her disguise drop as she did so, she was comfortable on dragon back and the dragon was so magnificent that she couldn't help but place a hand on his head and scratch him. His build was similar to that of Sparky and he felt oddly familiar and she sat there.

"You don't seem scared of him at all now. That was a quick change. Usually people question it all far more and are a bit anxious the first time they fly." He said, watching her closely.

"I guess I just realised if you could ride him he couldn't be as frightening as he looked."

Hiccup smiled at her and patted the dragon gently.

"Alright Toothless, take us home, gently please bud." And they soared gracefully into the air. She hated leaving Sparky but she was on her way now. She stared around and admired the view; she took note of where they had left and where they were going so she could find her way back. It was amazing.

"You ok back there?" Hiccup asked her, turning his head to look at her. She had her arms stretched out into the clouds and was smiling, she had not held onto him for takeoff or anything. She was clearly very comfortable on dragon back, this posed Hiccup with a number of questions but he did not ask them.

"I'm fine." She breathed as she inhaled deeply. She loved to fly, it was so free up her and she loved it more than anything. It was the only time she ever felt truly happy, truly one with herself. They flew swiftly through the air for a short while before landing outside of a large house that looked out over a village.

"This is my home, my village. You'll be safe here, don't worry." He said as he slid off the dragon's back and held out a hand to help her down. She didn't need it and dismounted carefully but quickly with the casual grace that suggested she knew what she was doing. It intrigued Hiccup but at the same time, for some reason it unsettled him.

"Hiccup?" A voice came from the open door of the house and a woman stepped out of it. Camicazi couldn't help but notice she was very beautiful. "I thought you were on night patrol?" The woman said storming down towards him with an attitude that screamed not to mess with her.

"I was, and am but I had to..." He began, it surprised Camicazi that he seemed a little flustered and lost for words under the gaze of this woman.

"Who is this?" she demanded of him.

"Errr, she washed ashore. Toothless and I found her in the forest. I brought her here so we could look after her..."

"So another Heather then?" The woman spat

"No Astrid, not another Heather. Look, she's just here whilst I figure out what to do ok?" The woman, Astrid, eyed her suspiciously. She had bright blue eyes and hair as golden as the sun.

"Mum, Dad?" A boy who looked no older than Vott came down from the house now and looked at the three people before him. Camicazi stared at him. She had not known about him. She didn't know that Hiccup had a son. How had her father neglected to tell her that?

"Who's this?" The boy asked rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"I was just saying to your Mum..."
"My name is Camicazi." She said looking away from the boy and to Hiccup.

"There we go; she has a name after all." Hiccup gave Astrid a crooked smile but she continued to glare.

"Hiccup, we have to talk about this. We know nothing about this girl! She could be working with Dagur for all we know!" Camicazi felt like someone had stabbed her with a blade made from ice.

"Look, I'm not going to cast out a child who washed ashore! We have to help her even if she doesn't stay long..."
"Did you see her wash ashore? Have you seen any boat wreckage or are you just taking her word for it?"

"Mum, Dad. Can we just calm down...?" They all argued and Camicazi turned away. What now? She wondered. Astrid clearly trusted no one. They considered her father an enemy, she knew this to be true, the tribes were enemies. But they already suspected her so how could she carry out her plan.

"Do you not remember what we lost the last time Dagur and his men set foot on Berk?" Astrid cried, tears burning in her eyes. Camicazi turned around, her curiosity suddenly peaked.

"Of course I do. How could I ever forget Astrid?" Hiccup half snapped. His voice though was softening as she cried. "Come here, it's ok. He's not going to hurt us again. He'll never tear our family apart ok. I promise." He held her close and then reached out for his son who stepped into his mother and fathers embrace. Toothless let out a deep rumble. Another dragon joined him. Camicazi listened. It was a call of sorrow and loss. She wondered what had happened. As she stared at the little family she felt a great wave of sadness herself. Was this family? Was this what love really was? She'd never had that. Not even when her mother had been alive. Not like this. She stepped back a few paces, afraid to intrude on this intimate moment when she bumped into the other dragon she had heard calling. A stunning blue Deadly Nadder. Both the Nadder and Toothless watched her as she backed away a little more. Carefully she held out her hand to the Nadder who slowly stepped forward and allowed her to stroke it. With one hand on the Nadder and the other on Toothless she began to sing, very softly, so softly that it could simply have been the whisper of a gentle breeze. It was the song she sang to Sparky, a song she knew from somewhere within her, as if from some far off memory, a distant dream. She sang and the dragons both settled down and the others throughout the village stirred and began migrating towards the sound. They knew the song, and they sought out its singer.

Valka stirred in her bed, she could hear dragonsong. She had not heard it for a very long time, but the voice that sang it she did not know. She hurried down the stairs and out of the door in time to see her dragon rush with all the others to the songs source. She listened for a moment longer before gasping and staring to the skies.

"A Dragon-Whisperer. She has returned."