She stood surrounded by the burning ashes of what had once been houses, and let the exhaustion she'd been staving off reach her. She sighed, noting the numerous cuts and bruises that adorned her arms. Was it just her, or were these raids becoming more commonplace? Her injuries from the last raid had not yet healed, and they had been a distraction that had nearly cost her her life on several occasions. Still, she had taken down her fair share of dragons, despite her new axe. Try as she might, she just couldn't seem to get used to it. The balance didn't seem right, the grip was all wrong and it blunted far too easily. She'd have to talk to Gobber about it again.

As she made her way towards the Great Hall, she spotted other Vikings doing the same, including the twins and Fishlegs. The once nerdy boy had grown into himself, and as well as being an astute tactician he had earned himself a good reputation as a near unstoppable berserker. She still remembered when it had first manifested…

She and Ruffnut had been caught in what had seemed like a hopeless situation, with a row of burning houses at their backs, and facing both a Nadder and a Nightmare. They had been barely managing to defend themselves when a blow from the Nightmare had caught Ruffnut and split her side, causing her to cry out. A terrifying roar had answered her, momentarily drowning out the rest of the battle, and she had seen a Gronckle go spinning off as though thrown by some unearthly force. Then Fishlegs had arrived, screaming incoherently and slamming his hammer down into the face of the Nightmare, slaying it instantly. He'd gone on to kill the Nadder and rampage through the rest of the village, causing both Vikings and Dragons alike to scurry out of his way. He had been a fiend that day, killing everything in his path. She had shaken her head in disbelief at the normally quiet and reserved boy, and carried Ruffnut to the healer. She had obviously underestimated how much Fishlegs had cared for the girl. Of course, once the rest of the village had heard of it there had been less than a week before the two were married. Surprisingly, Ruffnut didn't seem upset about it all, and Tuffnut had been slack-jawed in admiration at the trail of destruction…

Running a few steps, she joined them as they made their way to the now routine village meeting.

'Hiccup?! Is that you? Where did you learn to fight like that? How did you get here? Where've you been!? What's with the armour? How...'

Laughing, he raised his hands, cutting off the flow of questions.

'Please, one at a time! Yes, I'm fairly sure I'm still me. I'm also fine, thanks for asking'

She flushed red at this, he'd just taken on an entire boat load of pirates and she hadn't thought to check if he was injured! He just laughed at her discomfort, which did not help with the blushing.

'The rest of your tribe should be arriving before too long, I told them what happened before I came to get you'

'The rest of my… How did you know I was captured, and how on earth did you reach Bog and get back here so quickly?

He shrugged and replied 'By changewing of course, it was the only way'

'Changewing? You mean you rode a dragon?'

'Sure, why not? Dragons are not what you think they are'

She gasped as the implications of what he was saying hit her. If dragons could be tamed… She grasped his arm, and with a tremor in her voice said

'You can't tell the others this, there's no way they'll accept it. They'll kill your dragon, and probably you too'

He shook her arm off and looked troubled, but only for a moment.

'That's actually why I've come back. I mean to bring down the queen and have peace between Vikings and Dragons.'

'The Queen?' she queried.

'Ever nest is ruled by a queen, and she's responsible for the raids. Take her out, and the raids will stop. I'll explain everything once we get back to Bog. Oh, one more thing. Promise not to freak out?'

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

'You can come out now, I promise you're safe. She wont hurt you, right?' he said whilst glancing at her. She nodded once more, and nearly jumped out of her skin as a changewing seemed to appear next to them. She couldn't help it, she grabbed for her axe but her hands were caught by Hiccup before they reached it.

'Don't' was all he said before slowly approaching the changewing. He held his hand out, and it nuzzled it, before accepting his ministrations and purring like an overgrown cat.

'I was actually kind of hoping you'd like to learn how to do this. I figured a changewing would fit your fighting style. And she'll be really handy for all the sneaking you do'

'Me? Isn't she yours? And how do you mean she'll be useful?'

'You mind demonstrating youngling?' he asked the changewing. It opened its eyes and nodded. It got to its feet and enveloped Hiccup in its wings and they both vanished.

'You see? Changewings have the natural ability to camouflage themselves, and if you're wrapped in its wings you're hidden too'

'Hiccup? Can you step out please? It's like talking to a ghost, I'm not sure I like it'

He laughed, and both he and the changewing came back into focus.

'No, she isn't 'mine'; she just agreed to help me for now. I'm bonded to another, and he's recovering on an island not too far from Bog. It's not really a case of 'owning' a dragon, you can't bond with them like that. It's based on mutual respect. Toothless is my best friend, we fly as a team. I've learned so much about dragons these past few years, probably more than anyone else ever has. Wherever I travelled, I was the first to fly with a dragon. Some cultures revere them, others fear them, and some, like the Vikings, fight them. I've never met a culture that's befriended them, and want the Vikings to be the first.'

A new note had entered his voice as he was speaking, one that she hadn't heard from him before. It wasn't just determination, but self-assurance. The Hiccup who'd left them had just been starting to believe in himself, the Hiccup who'd returned had truly grown into himself, and she couldn't help but admire him. As the thought entered her head she noticed a few other things too. He was now taller than her by a considerable amount. Not quite as tall as the average Viking, but not the undersized person he'd been before. She couldn't be sure, not with the armour, but he looked a lot more toned than he had before. She shook her head to clear it and refocused on the matter at hand.

'Okay Hiccup, I'll believe you. Teach me'