Great another chapter, Wahoo! I have way too much free time. Anyway Hiccup arrives on Berk now and has some nasty and less nasty run-ins with the locals. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: This is Berk

(2 weeks later)

Berk, morning, 266 ADF

Astrid Hofferson woke up at the same time like she does every morning. The eighteen years old shield-maiden quickly got dressed, strapped on her shoulder-guards, strapped her signature battle axe on her back and made sure her hair was braided in her signature braid behind her shoulder. She wore a blue tunic over a spiked, leather skirt and fur boots. Her shoulder-guards were linked over her chest with a leather band and metal ring. She also had a leather headband in her hair, keeping it from covering her eyes.

She stepped outside her house and made her way towards the great-hall for breakfast. It was a bright sunny day, nothing could ruin her good mood.

Except one thing…

"Hey there babe." Snotlout Jorgenson's voice tore through her mood instantly turning it sour. "Slept well? Dreamt of me?" He tried to flirt whilst flashing his arm muscles.

He was violently interrupted by the flat of Astrid's axe head being smashed in his face.

"Beat it Snotlout, that's never going to happen! Ever!" She shouted angrily while he was still holding his face in pain. She huffed before turning around and heading towards the great-hall with a ruined mood. Leaving Snotlout on the ground.

"Don't worry babe one day you'll be mine." Snotlout said to himself before standing up and following her in her path.

Once inside the great-hall Astrid quickly got her breakfast and made her way to the teen's regular table. She was joined by Fishlegs Ingerman, the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston and to her annoyance Snotlout Jorgenson.

"So I heard trader Johann will be arriving today, anyone looking for anything in particular?" Fishlegs asked no one in particular.

"No not really, I'm just going to look if he has anything interesting." Astrid replied.

"I' hope he has some new weapons!" Tuffnut chimed in. "Yeah, some really destructive ones!" Ruffnut added.

The twins were always looking for more ways to cause chaos. It seemed the occasional yak-tipping wasn't enough for the teenage twins who devoted their life to Loki, the god of mischief.

Astrid signed mentally. The twins were never going to change and Snotlout wasn't any better. During the dragon raids they could at least focus on their tasks but that was three years ago. Three years ago the raids abruptly stopped and no one understood why.

But that didn't mean there wasn't any less destruction. Mainly caused by the chief's young daughter.

They all knew the story of the first heir's death. The night he was taken away by a dragon. She knew he would have been their age, sometimes she thought about what might have been if he lived. She heard that the chief's younger daughter was like a mirror image of him, but that was when they were new-born. Who knows maybe might have been very different from her.

She was awoken from her line of thought when the blacksmith known as Gobber barged in the hall.

"Trader Johann is here!" He loudly proclaimed and immediately afterwards he bolted back out of the door towards the docks. Followed by multiple Vikings who wanted to go take a look at Johann's wares.

Astrid decided to go to the docks as well. She was curious of what Johann has brought around this time.

"Alright guys time to go then." She said to the rest of the teens who followed almost immediately. Equally curious of all the items for sale.

The group of teens made their way towards the docks where Johann had already begun selling his items to the Vikings who were present. There was a bit of a waiting queue so they had to be patient. Fishlegs was muttering to himself about all the new books Johann might have for sale, the twins were head-butting, Snotlout was trying to hit on Astrid with little success and Astrid was ignoring Snotlout and swinging her axe around.

When it was finally their turn Fishlegs almost immediately attacked trader Johann with questions whilst the rest of them were staring around the goods absentminded.

"Johann! Have you got anything new for me?" Fishlegs asked excited in the prospect of new books.

"Yes master Fishlegs of course, I just returned from traders-island with some new and exciting books." Johann said with his usual traders cheer.

"It reminds me of my recent trip to a nation far south, a…" Johann began but was interrupted by chief Stoick's booming voice.

"Keep your stories for dinner Johann!" He chuckled knowing that when Johann started talking he never stopped.

"Very well Stoick. So what can I do for you today?" Johann said whilst pointing Fishlegs towards his collection of books.

"I'm just looking around Johann, carry on." Stoick said to the energetic trader.

The chief had changed over the years, his once proud red beard sported more than a few grey hairs and there were significantly more wrinkles in his face. All signs of old age and parenting.

Just then a girl looking about fourteen years old cautiously approached the trader's ship. Hoping not to be spotted by the rest of the villagers to avoid their scowls. She was used to it as she had gotten them throughout her entire life. To them she was nothing more than Stoick's little disappointment.

"Excuse me sir?" She said to Johann quietly. "Do you have anything for me?"

"But of course lady Hicca, one moment." Johann said to her before opening several chests in search of some specific objects. "Ah, here you go. New sketchbooks and some squid-ink."

"Thank you Johann." She thanked him whilst paying him with some silver and making her way back to the village trying to be unseen.

'The things that girl has to go through' Johann thought to himself.

Just then one of the guard posts shouted out. "Ship approaching!"

Astrid, Stoick and some of the villagers looked up to see a single ship heading towards them. The ship bore no crest on its sails and looked too small to be a trader.

"Hmmm, likely just a traveller." Stoick said before turning his attention back to the trader's items.

Astrid looked at the ship for a couple more moments before doing the same.

But in all this activity none of the Viking nor the trader noticed the jet-black blur flying over the village in direction of the forest.

(An hour earlier)

Waters several kilometres out of Berk, morning, 266 ADF

They had been sailing for three weeks straight. Nothing really happened during the trip and Hiccup killed most of his time with drawing, writing and attempting to catch a fish without Toothless's help. Of course he failed miserably.

They were now having their last meal at sea, curtesy of Toothless who was rather smug about Hiccup's inability to catch a fish. He could hold his own on a battlefield but couldn't catch a fish.

"Haha Toothless, I get it I can't fish, you can! Now wipe that smirk of your face, you're annoying me." Hiccup half laughing half serious said to his friend.

Toothless answered him by whacking the back of Hiccup's head with his tail, earning a grunt from his human friend.

"Useless reptile." Hiccup murmured earning a toothless smile from the offending dragon.

They finished their meal silently whilst taking small pot-shots at each other. It was wat they did to kill the time besides flying. But they were too close to their destination and they couldn't be seen.

Once their meal was finished Hiccup proceeded to attach his various saddle-bags to Toothless's saddle. The bags contained his more sensitive equipment and his Draconian armour. The only weapons he had on him was his collapsible sword and a knife in his boot. Toothless would take the rest with him to hide in the island's forests.

"Alright that should be the last pack. You know the plan Toothless, you find yourself a good spot in the forest to hide and wait until I find you tonight. Understood?" Hiccup asked whilst strapping the last pack on Toothless's back.

Toothless nodded his head in affirmative.

"Ok then, see you tonight. Of you go now." Hiccup said onto which Toothless shot high into the sky with a powerful flap of his wings. High enough not to be noticed by any Viking guards.

"Alright here goes nothing." He said whilst putting his hood and facecloth back on effectively hiding his identity from everyone. Dressed in his brown/green fur and leather outfit with a tunic he looked like any other traveller who would roam around in these regions.

"Hello there sailor, welcome to Berk!" one of the Vikings on the docks shouted to him when he arrive about an hour and a half after Toothless flew off. He was spotted by Berk's watch posts about half an hour after that so no one suspected a thing.

"Morning." He greeted back.

Hiccup proceeded to ty up his boat with the help of the Viking dockhand and proceeded to grab his duffel bag with his remaining stuff. He made sure there was nothing left on the ship in the event of a rapid escape. Nothing that could lead back to the Empire. The boat itself was bought of some Vikings so that wouldn't help them either. He got what he needed and stepped of the boat onto the docks.

"So what brings you here, traveller?" The Viking who helped him asked.

"I'm travelling around exploring different islands and making maps." Hiccup expertly lied to the Viking.

"Interesting. So before I can let you though I need a name to know whose boat this is." The Viking continued not really interested in the reason this stranger was here.

"My name is Ryder." Hiccup lied again. There was no reason for them to know his real name.

"Okay then, welcome to Berk." The Viking said not really paying attention to the man in front of him.

Hiccup thanked the man briefly before making his way towards the village. But then the Viking did look at him briefly now noticing his strange gear and outfit. The strangest thing he thought was the sword-hilt with an extremely short blade mounted on the back of his hips. Like it was only half as long as it should be.

'That is a very strange sword?' The Viking thought. But the Hiccup was already far away before he could ask about it.

Meanwhile Hiccup was walking through the village looking for a place to stay. He couldn't stay with Toothless in the forest as that would raise suspicion. He looked around and saw many different buildings. Most were houses or storage barns, probably for food. He also saw one particular building he knew very well back home, although this one was smaller. A forge.

He took a step closer to take a look inside, the building sparked his curiosity. He walked a few meters before he heard something unusual for a normal village and stopped in his tracks. The sounds were coming from behind the forge and it sounded like someone in distress. There was no-one around and the forge was abandoned as well. Hiccup decided to go take a look.

When he rounded the corner of the forge he was met with a sight which he utterly despised. A young girl getting bullied by some older teens who looked to be his age.

"Come on useless, stand up we're not done for today." A stocky dark haired boy who was about as high as his shoulder spat at the auburn haired girl who was sprawled on the ground and kept in place by two nearly identical teens. Except for the fact that one was male and the other female.

'Probably twins.' Hiccup thought while he approached silently.

"Snotlout please, just leave me alone." The girl whimpered.

"Then you shouldn't be so pathetic Hicca, you'll never be a real Viking I you do!" The boy now known as Snotlout laughed. The twins laughed with him as well.

At this moment Hiccup had had enough. He dropped his duffel bag from his back and stepped forward grabbing Snotlout's shoulder and pulled him backward spinning him around.

"Hey! Pick on someone your own age knucklehead!" Hiccup snarled at Snotlout with a voice that was further deepened by his facemask. At first Snotlout was surprised by the intervention but his expression quickly changed to annoyance.

"Mind your own business stranger, you can't tell me what to do!" Snotlout shot back. "She deserves it, she has to learn to be a Viking and not so useless."

That comment did it for Hiccup. Before Snotlout could even utter another word he was met with a punch right in his face. A hard one that send him stumbling a few metres back before he lost his balance and fell on the ground.

The twins wanted to come to Snotlout's help and tried to rush Hiccup but he was prepared for that. He actually counted on them attacking him.

When the twins came up to him he whirled around and grabbed them both on the back of their heads. Before they even realised what was happening Hiccup smashed their heads together a little harder than when they purposely did this. Result: it hurt a lot.

Afterwards all three of them were sprawled on the ground in a disorganised pile of pain. Their groans betrayed that they had been hit hard. Both physically and in Snotlout's case also in pride.

"Now get the hell out of here!" Hiccup ordered in a low voice. Snotlout was about to protest but was cut off by Hiccup shouting in his face. "MOVE!"

The twins scrambled on their feet and dragged Snotlout with them to make a hasty retreat. Hiccup, satisfied with himself turned back around towards the bullied girl who was starting to get up and saw everything. She whimpered slightly when he came closer.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." Hiccup said while extending his hand, offering his help to her.

Hicca hesitantly took his hand and got up. "Why would you help me?" She asked the stranger in front of her.

"Because I can't stand someone getting bullied for who they are. It's not right." Hiccup said whilst guiding her to a nearby log to sit down.

"Do I have your permission to check for any wounds miss?" Hiccup asked when Hicca was seated.

"Uhh, sure I guess." Hicca answered surprised that this stranger was so helpful. Only her mother and maybe Gobber and Gothi cared so much for her.

Hiccup quickly stood up and got his duffel bag which he dropped moments earlier. He then sat back down next to Hicca and proceeded checking her for any injuries.

"Your injuries seem to be very minor. Only a slight bruise on your cheek." Hiccup concluded after a quick check-up. "Should be gone within a day or two."

"Thank you sir." Hicca said to him.

"Hicca, if you don't mind me asking. Why were those kids doing all those thing to you?" Hiccup asked with worry lacing his voice.

Hicca then hesitantly told him that the entire village except her mother thought of her as useless. She told him that she couldn't do anything right no matter how hard she tried. She thought of herself as a failure.

These words stung Hiccup deep. One of the few things he knew about Viking society was that a tribe was like family. What he just heard was obviously not family behaviour.

"And no one besides your mother tries to stop them?" Hiccup asked taken aback of the whole situation.

"No, the villagers don't care. They see Snotlout as a better heir than me. The twins follow his every move and Fishlegs is too afraid to do anything. Then there is Astrid, she doesn't bully me or anything like that but she also does nothing to stop it. I guess she thinks of me just like the rest of the village.

Hiccup understood what was happening here. The girl had been shunned for her entire life and in return had a very poor self-esteem. Now he was going to do something about that.

"Listen Hicca, it doesn't matter what the village thinks of you. They can't decide what you have to be or have to do. The only thing that matters is what you think and believe. In the end you will have to make your own decisions. Only you know what's best for yourself." Hiccup said to her trying to encourage her to keep going and never give up. It was a basic philosophy in the Draconian military.

"Really? You think so?" Hicca asked hopeful.

"I don't think that. I know it to be true." Hiccup encouraged.

Hicca pondered on these words for a moment before smiling. "Thank you sir, for everything."

"My pleasure miss Haddock. Oh before I forget do you know where I can stay the night for a while?" Hiccup asked whilst getting up from the log they had been sitting on for the past fifteen minutes.

"Ah yes, there's an inn on the other side of town. That way, you can't miss it." She said while pointing to the other side of the village. "I'd take you there but I need to go to work."

"That won't be necessary, thank you." Hiccup said before starting to walk away.

"Hey, dinner is in the great Hall. And I never got your name!" Hicca shouted after him.

"The name's Ryder." He shouted back and he continued his way whilst Hicca stepped inside the forge.

Neither of them saw Astrid against the wall of a nearby building with tears pricking in her eyes. She had heard everything Hicca and Ryder said and felt ashamed because she did indeed never help. She also couldn't help but wonder what was so special about this traveller.

(Several hours later)

Great hall of Berk, evening, 266 ADF

Hiccup used the last few hours to get himself settled in the village inn. A cosy place with small rooms that wasn't too expensive. He also used this time to go over his mission details. Until it started to become gloomy and he had developed a little hunger. He decided to follow Hicca's advice and go to the great hall.

Inside the great hall Astrid was seated on their usual table with the rest of the teens. Snotlout was still scowling over the beating he had received from the man they now knew as Ryder. Astrid actually began to like the guy. He was a person with a feeling of honour and he punched Snotlout right in the face, she could respect that.

"If I ever get my hands on that Ryder guy I'm going to snap his neck." Snotlout scowled.

Astrid chuckled at this. "Yeah like you could even get close enough without dying."

"He got the drop on me the last time, that won't happen again." Snotlout seethed.

At that moment Hiccup entered the great hall and started to look around for a seat. When he found one he started to walk in the direction of the teens.

"Uh guys, he's coming towards us." Fishlegs squeaked. After he heard what happened from Astrid he was a little bit scared of the mysterious traveller.

"Good let him come." Snotlout said.

Astrid only watched with interest. This man had something about him she couldn't quite place.

They were all very surprised when he blatantly ignored them and continued his path towards a table with only one occupant.

Hicca.

"Mind if I sit here?" Hiccup asked startling her.

"Whoa, um sure. Be my guest." Hicca answered. In truth she was happy he joined her.

Hiccup set down his plate and sat down. He removed the mask in front of his mouth but kept his hood up. Concealing his face so he couldn't be recognised.

They both ate silently. Hicca didn't ask any questions, she was just happy someone was willing to sit with her.

"Why is he sitting with useless? Doesn't he know she's bad luck?" Snotlout questioned the rest of the gang.

"Or maybe he just doesn't care." Astrid answered. Truthfully she was just as curious for the answer, and she was going to find out why he was so special. "See you later guys." She said while picking up her tray and making her way towards the table with Hicca and Ryder.

The rest of the gang just sat there with their mouth agar. Astrid just abandoned them for Hicca and that traveller. Snotlout was fuming but kept quiet. He couldn't go against Astrid and he knew it.

"Can I sit here?" Astrid asked the two other occupants of the table. Hicca was taken aback while Hiccup just nodded, his eyes never leaving his food.

When Astrid was seated she discreetly took a good look at the traveller. She couldn't see a lot but from what she could see she could make out a few things. He was tanned and had a small scar on his chin. But his eyes, they were mesmerising. Deep emerald green colour that seemed to be familiar.

Hiccup then abruptly stopped eating and looked her straight in her eyes. His eyes spoke experience, compassion and danger. This man was intimidating.

"Why are you here Miss Hofferson?" He suddenly asked.

"I, um, uhh…" She stuttered. "I wanted to come sit here."

"Why?" He asked again.

"Uhh…" She tried again but she was too intimidated. And to think she had never been intimidated, it was always the other way around.

"Ryder that's enough." Hicca suddenly spoke. "She can sit here if she likes."

"No Hicca wait." Astrid spoke. "I want to apologise. For everything I did."

"Why you never did anything to me?" Hicca asked surprised. Hiccup remained silent and listened.

"But like you said, I never helped you either." Astrid answered but then quickly covered her mouth. She just admitted eavesdropping their conversation.

"It seems someone was listening." Hiccup said whilst making a mental note to be more careful.

"You are forgiven Astrid." Hicca continued. "If we can be friends."

"I can do that." She answered with a smile.

For the rest of the evening the three talked about various things. Hiccup wisely kept his mouth shut for most of the time not giving any details about his identity. Instead listening for any clues regarding his mission. And silently admiring Astrid, he had to admit she was beautiful. Maybe something to think about in the future.

As the evening went on Hiccup excused himself from the table and exited the great hall. When outside he looked around to see nobody followed him and then darted into the forest. He had his best friend to visit.

Damn, that was a long one. So there you go Hiccup has arrived on Berk and no-one knows who he truly is yet. The following chapters will expand on his stay there and everything that might or might not happen. As for Hicca I presumed with Valka still on Berk in this timeline a second child isn't so strange. Especially with the presumed death of the first child. Hicca will play a role in the story plot but the rest of that information are spoilers.

I was very pleased with all the reviews I received so thank you all who took the time to do that.

assasins death: It's an interesting idea but it doesn't really fit in the plot. Maybe an idea for a one-shot collection after the story's been finished.

krisisk369: First of all it needs to be a covert operation so a group of 10 to 20 strangers is going to raise some flags. Secondly he isn't really alone he has some back up but that will be elaborated later in the story.

TheKingOfAll: yes, the parent's priceless reaction. Unfortunately you'll have to wait a little while for that. Hiccup won't be revealed for some time.

Anyway I've been

Dismissed