New chapter! Yay! Sorry this took so long. I'm not even going to bother with excuses. This chapter was edited by kaitlynn19. Thank You!

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD.

Chapter 10

Hiccup

After I finished with class that day, I went back to the training area to see how Astrid and Catherine Mary were doing. When I arrived, they were sparing. Astrid was calling out suggestions to Catherine Mary as they fought. Catherine Mary was stumbling a lot, which surprised me. From what I had seen so far, Catherine Mary didn't seem to be clumsy.

As Catherine Mary turned, I realized her hair style wasn't one I had ever seen before. Her hair was woven into a braid. She wore her circlet, but instead of putting it over or under the braid was in it. And at every place where two parts of hair crossed in the braid, one of the silver bead connected them.

My attention was brought back to the fight as Astrid knocked down Catherine Mary another time. She coached Catherine Mary as she helped her up. They started again, Catherine Mary growing increasingly irritated. Finally she growled and tossed both her shield and her weapon aside. The sudden and unexpected action caused Astrid to pause and Catherine Mary used that hesitation as a chance to attack. Any thoughts I had about her clumsiness were instantly erased. She moved with a balance and grace that I had never seen before. Astrid quickly got over her shock and attacked, although her hits were more gentle than before. Catherine Mary dodged all of them and was able to get in hits of her own as well.

As Catherine Mary proved she could handle herself, Astrid started to go harder on her. Catherine Mary managed to stay ahead of her the entire time even when Astrid was trying her best. Astrid finally cornered Catherine Mary after about 20 minutes of sparring. She swung her practice sword at Catherine Mary's neck to simulate an enemy's final blow. Catherine Mary simply grinned and ducked. When she ducked, however, she simply moved her head into the sword's path. I flinched. The blow was soft enough that it wouldn't hurt anyone under normal circumstances. But Catherine Mary was still recovering from a head injury and she didn't have a helmet on. No matter how soft the blow was, it wouldn't be good. In the split second it took to register what was happening, the blow connected. Catherine Mary didn't even flinch. When I looked closer, I noticed the the sword hadn't touched her head. Catherine Mary had tilted her head at just the right angle so that her circlet caught the practice blade before it reached her head. Taking advantage of Astrid's shock, she slapped Astrid's hand, causing her to instinctively open her hand and drop her weapon. Catherine Mary grabbed it, darted around Astrid and placed the edge of the blade on Astrid's shoulder. There was a moment of silence before Catherine cheerfully declared, "I win." She then dropped the blade, placed her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath.

Astrid and I glanced at each other. "Do you recognize it?" I asked. Astrid shook her head.

Catherine Mary looked at us, her eyes conveying her confusion. "Recognize what?"

"Each tribe has a slightly different style of fighting," Astrid explained.

"Sometimes we can tell where someone is from based on their technique," I continued, "Astrid was trying see if she could recognize any moves that you used while she was training you."

Catherine Mary nodded in understanding. "So what now?"

I looked at the sun, which was just starting its descent. "Why don't we go get something to eat?"

As we walk Astrid and I slowed down. Once we were some distance behind Catherine Mary, I turned to Astrid. "Well, what did you find?"

"She was pretty good at almost everything I asked her to do," Astrid reported, "However, she flat out refused to hunt or fish."

I was slightly surprised by this. "Did she say why?"

"No, but for some reason it really upset her. I felt guilty for even suggesting it."

Before I could say anything else, we were at the main hall. Astrid and I got our food and sat down with the other teens at our usual table. As I was setting down my food, I noticed Catherine Mary was sitting at an empty table. I made my way over to her. "Why don't you come sit with us?" Catherine Mary seemed to panic. "Don't worry," I assured her, "after your reaction this morning, I think everyone will be a little more careful around you."

After a moment of thought Catherine Mary reluctantly nodded and grabbed her plate. When we returned to the table, everyone stopped talking. It seemed like Catherine Mary's display had more of an effect than I thought. There was an awkward silence that stretched for a few minutes. "Hiccup, have you told Catherine Mary how you lost your leg yet?" Astrid finally asked.

I shook my head. "Would you like to hear it, Catherine Mary?"

She gave a small nod.

"Well, it all started one night..." I then told Catherine Mary the story of how I found Toothless and the events that followed. The other teens interrupted occasionally with comments and corrections. The former lighthearted atmosphere returned to the table. Midway through the story, I glanced over to where Catherine Mary was sitting. She had a small but genuine smile on her face. Even better was the fact that she finally seemed slightly relaxed. Ever since I found her on the island, she had been cautious and scared. Even when she was unconscious, she looked like she was only pretending to sleep and was ready to jump up at the first sign of attack. But at that moment I saw some of the tension leave her face. It gave me hope that whatever happened to her that made her so guarded, maybe we could undo it.

Catherine Mary

While everyone was talking and laughing I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face. A strange and comfortable feeling came over me. It took a moment for me to figure out what this feeling was. I felt... accepted. Nobody on Berk knew much about me, but that hadn't mattered. They treated me as one of their own. For that moment, I wasn't worried about them rejecting me. I had no doubt that worry would come back. But why? Why was the feeling of acceptance unfamiliar? Why was the worry always there?

Okay! That's the chapter. I think there's going to be one more chapter for this story. But don't worry! There will be a sequel. My answer to the last question is… Toothless! Yes, I consider him a character. The question for this chapter is: What is your favorite scene from the movie? REVIEW! Please!