Snotlout blundered over to us, "hey quit telling secrets to my dragon!"

Hiccup had clearly had enough. I watched as he turned on him suddenly, "she is helping your dragon, you stupid Viking! Can't you see something's spooked him?"

I watched as Hiccup shoved his face close to Snotlout's and his nostrils flared. His face was red with anger.

I looked between the two, until Hiccup finally noticed I was watching and straightened up, recollecting his composure. My cheeks also felt hot, knowing that Hiccup had gotten so defensive of me. The others seemed to look on with pure interest at the boys' feud, as if it was a common occurrence. I'm sure it was.

"Look, now that we have someone that can actually talk to dragons, maybe we should learn from her," his voice tried to relax.

I gave him a curt smile before turning back to the dragon.

'Wild dragon?'

'There are not usually wild dragons on Berk these days,' Hookfang continued.

'Do you know why it's here?'

'No. But that explains the missing sheep.'

I nodded and gave him one last scratch on the nose in thanks.

I turned around and the group was all hovering around me expectantly, with Ruff and Tuff finally joining the party.

"He says there's a wild dragon here. And I guess that explains the missing sheep."

"Of course!" Astrid pumped her fist in the air, "it makes sense."

"Well, dad's not going to be happy about this," Hiccup grumbled.

I couldn't help but sneak a smile. I had finally put my talents to good use.

"Should we track it down and scare it off?" I suggested, maybe with a bit too much of enthusiasm.

The other's turned to me, almost surprised that I had actually spoken. To them my slight accent must also stand out. I wondered what it sounded like to them.

"That's not a bad idea," Fishlegs pointed out, "but we don't know what kind of dragon we're up against."

I nodded- he had a point. Okay, I'm still learning.

"We'll send out a scout tonight to watch the sheep pen. That seems to be when the sheep go missing." Hiccup dictated.

We all nodded, and without any more disagreements the group began to trudge back through the trees towards Berk. I guessed that since a dragon must be taking the sheep, there was no pint in disarming traps because the sheep would be long gone.

The town cam back into sight; it had quieted after lunchtime. I had trailed ahead, and I droned out the twins who bickered with the others behind me. I watched my feet, in the unfamiliar shoes. I almost never wore shoes back home. Especially after… I couldn't bring myself to think about it. A pang went through my chest again at the thought of home. Maybe I really did miss it, even though by now there was no home to go back to. Even my shelter that Hiccup and I had stayed in on his visit was in ash; probably spread halfway across the jungle by now.

I listened as the others' footsteps meandered away from me. I didn't bother to say goodbye considering I'd see them in a few hours. I finally took notice in the mimicking footsteps that countered mine. I looked up to see Hiccup walking along side me. He stared ahead, lost in thought. I could only guess what he was thinking about: the dragon. That's all he ever thought about. Well, dragons... and Astrid, Berk, Toothless, his dad…

"Dad's officially announcing it you know." Okay maybe he thinks of other things too.

I raised my head at the sudden voice. "Announcing what?"

"You. Joining the tribe. It's not often we get new members; the whole town's pretty excited."

My cheeks flushed at the comment. The only new members they probably ever got were babies or dragons these days. I really had no idea how to be a Viking- but this was my home now. Hiccup's all I have left. "What do I have to do?" I asked as we entered Hiccup's side of the house. I knew he wouldn't mind since it was where we occasionally killed time together, and I really had no reasoning to go into my lonesome room at the moment.

"Nothing. Well, there'll be a little announcement at the party…" He lifted his leather armour over his torso and slung it over the chair, as I averted my eyes.

"Party?" I sat on side bench against the wall that was half-covered in books. Most of them, which I had been reading. Hiccup had already read most of them.

"Offical welcoming party," he continued and settled into the chair.

"Didn't we just have a party?"

"That was for our coming-home. Yeah, Vikings sure like celebrations. Gives them an excuse to drink mead and overload on excessive food," he shrugged his shoulders in the cute way that Hiccup does.

I chuckled at his comment. "I'm kind of nervous."

I looked at the ground but my eyes continually flickered back to meet with his as he looked at me with his bright green eyes.

"What for? You're practically one of us already. Only thing's left is the ceremony, and I don't even know if you could classify it as one of those either."

I shrugged and hugged my knees closer to my chest. I dared not let on what I truly felt. I didn't think I was suitable to become a Viking. They were so brooding and strong and… warriors. I'm just a lost half-dragon with nowhere to go. I can't fly and, well, I don't have half the heart of a Viking.

Hiccup picked up a leather-bound book and began flipping through it.

I watched him for a minute before a different colour caught the corner of my eye. I stared, and my heart panged at the sight. It was the blue dragon. He still kept it. The small, plush toy that his mother had made him sat on his desk as a reminder of her. My heart choked at the thought of losing a parent; I knew the feeling all too well. The fact that he brought it with him on his adventure and never lost it amazed her. They had barely made it off that island alive, let alone with any possessions.

The thing that I found intriguing was that in Berk, there was actually a very small selection of dragons. Hiccup knew this; we had discussed the vast species that existed beyond these borders many times. Except… the blue toy, that he thought was just a relic from his mom, was a real dragon. The blue-plush dragon was a representation of a real dragon. One not found on Berk of course- but I wondered if Hiccup would ever figure that out. I had only heard about it from the elders, but the way they described it assured me that it was in fact the same one.

How is mom knew of it, I did not know. But I figured it wasn't my place to question.

Hiccup flipped another page and glanced up at me, and when he saw me looking back his eyes fixed on mine. I felt my cheeks grow hot- I hadn't realized that I'd been staring. I looked away at the floor.

"So… how's Astrid?" I tried to break the tension.

Hiccup looked down at the page with no enthusiasm. I was sure he'd be bubbling about his girlfriend, maybe jabbering about how amazing she was. Now he said nothing.

"I'm sorry… it's just that you guys seemed so happy together this morning…"

He leaned back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling. "Yeah, we're great." Now I may barely understand sarcasm… but I knew what that tone meant. He said it like it was a fact, but I could tell he didn't want to chat about her with me. I just hoped that he was doing it to spare my feelings.

"I'm not stupid Hiccup. You can tell me."

"We're fine," he said a bit more forceful this time, slamming his book shut and shoving it back onto the bookshelf. I figured he was just reassuring himself of it though.

"I know- you guys certainly looked cozy flying away on Toothless earlier." My voice was almost snide, hinting at my annoyance, but I waited to see if he would figure out my reasoning.

Hiccup turned to me slowly, blinking confused, as if he had no idea what I was implying. I simply looked at him, waiting for him to put two-and-two together. His eyes widened. I knew he would figure it out.

"I… we…" he shoved his hands into his hair frustrated and groaned," "I'm so sorry. I… had no idea… I'm such and idiot!" He stood up abruptly and the chair shoved backwards. He stomped around for a minute. I patiently sat and watched. I really didn't mind that he had left me in the arena earlier- it wasn't that big of a deal. It just kind of bugged me that he had completely forgotten about me.

He traipsed back and forth, and quickly changed his direction towards me. I grew scared for a moment since the look in his eyes reminded me of a crazy person, and he thrust both his arms on the wall on either side of my head and stared me in the eye.

My heart beat wildly in my chest, as he stood so close. His breath ragged on my face, and his eyes were forlorn. I sucked in a breath, afraid that if I breathed on him the wrong way he would flip.

"Meyla, I'm sorry," his voice came out in gasp and he quickly spun around the other way. Had he not even realized how close he was a moment ago?

"It… it's okay. I was just kind of…" my voice trailed off as I tried to catch my own breath.

He turned around, his expression was back to normal but he was clearly stressed out.

"Kind of what?"

"Nothing."

"Meyla!"

"I was hurt, okay? You just kind of forgot about me, and, well… I didn't know what to do. I was just confused." My face lowered again ashamed, and I hugged my knees.

The bench shifted as Hiccup sat on the other side next to me. Without another word he pulled me closer with an arm to lean against him. I enjoyed the feeling of a warm embrace again. It reminded me of… I sucked in breath, as tears threatened to spill out. I had to stop thinking of home.

"I will never forget about you, okay? Just… don't hesitate to get my attention next time."

I nodded against his shoulder. Hiccup slowly got up and turned to me again, although I was sure I looked like a pathetic heap on the side of the room at this point.

"Oh, and your celebration is tonight by the way."