Sometimes you can never grasp the unknown until it's in front of you
Sometimes the only proof you have are your own eyes
Sometimes you will be doubted by all but yourself
But there is no feeling in the world that can match the feeling of discovery, of proof, of the results acquired through perseverance and adventure.

The sky is silent, peaceful, still. Thick, white, fluffy clouds are scattered around haphazardly, the sun shining down through gaps. All in all, the world is simple. Peaceful.

Then a dark blur hurtles down through the clouds, a playful screech ringing out and ruining the silence. A bleating sheep flying through the air gets snatched by thick claws.

Hiccup

"We got it!" I whoop, clutching tight to the saddle bars as we fly through the crisp air, the black sheep clutched in paw bleating its protests. Toothless lets out an excited growl as he folds his wings to dive further down in the air, creating the signature whistle as we arrow down towards the nets suspended above water.

I can hear wing beats flying after us, but I don't even bother to turn and check because I know we're too quick— given by the sounds of them growing more and distant by the second. A smirk grows on my face, pride and amusement washing through me along with adrenaline.

We reach the nets and twist to drop the sheep into our net, where it joins four white ones and therefore making our total 14 points. "Yes! That's how it's done, bud!" I laugh as we do a celebratory barrel role, pumping my fist in the air. The adrenaline causing through our veins has us do a few more flips and twists of celebration. Man, I've missed racing! It's been a few weeks since I've been able to take part, I've been so caught up with chiefing.

"That's so not fair!" I hear someone complain as we finally circle around and touch down next to the nets. I turn to see Astrid land Stormfly next to us with a thud. "We had that game!"

We'd decided to have a duel, because everyone else couldn't make it. Eret and Skullcrusher are on a fishing trip, Fishlegs is documenting the progress of the vegetable farms, the twins are fixing the hut they all but destroyed yesterday, and Snotlout has been on a flight ban for the past week because he, well, he's Snotlout.

"No, you have the honorary spot of loser!" I retort playfully, reaching to pull my helmet visor up and looking at her with a smirk.

"You know Stormfly and I had that black sheep! You— you cut in front of us!"

"I don't know Astrid, I think this is just the jealously talking!" I tease as I gesture to the mere three white sheep in her basket. Toothless chortles a laugh and I snicker, patting him. Someone's certainly going to be getting an extra salmon tonight!

"You just wait for our next race!" Astrid snaps back, her playful tone indicating she's not really angry. "You'll be seeing a lot of Stormfly's tail!"

"Yeah, when we lap you!" I grin, whipping my visor down and nudging Toothless to take off. We peel off the side— just as Astrid lets out a fake gasp of offence that would most likely be followed by a threat if we'd stayed to hear it— and fly through the village of New Berk to the dragon hatchery, dipping over rooftops and weaving between wooden perches as we go. Dragons both with and without Vikings fly and walk around, scattered around the land and sky as they go about their lives.

"I'm going to be paying for that remark later, aye bud!" I mumble as we land on the hatchery's landing pad and I hop off the saddle. He croons happily, then nudges my arm and indicating to his tail. "Oh, 'course bud. Meet up at the Greater hall?" I say as I switch his solo gliding on. He lets out a purr before taking off, and I turn to see him float down to land next to a feeding station, where a couple of Deadly Nadders and a Razorwhip are.

"Ah, Hiccup! There you are!" I turn to see my mother walk out of the hatchery with a baby Hotburple in hand. "Think you can give me a hand with the Monstrous Nightmare hatchlings? They're a bit roudy."

"Sure, I've got some dragon nip right here if we need it." I respond, patting my pocket as I follow her back in. Almost immediately, I have to duck to avoid a stream of fire.
Ok, this will be fun.

***
"Thank gods for fireproof armour..." I mutter, stepping through the doors into the Greater hall about an hour later. Several Vikings and dragons call out to me in greeting, and I return the favour as I walk forward to collect a plate of food and a mug of water before making my way to the Chief table—dodging dragon tails and wings as I go. Snotlout and Gobber are the only people sitting there, both eating, but Gobber pushes a stack of parchment towards me as soon as I sit down.

"Don't think I'm letting you skip out on the paperwork!" He laughs at my downcast expression and points his spoon-arm at me. "Just cause you're a weird, scrawny one legged chief with death's offspring at your side doesn't mean you get to escape trade deals!"

"You just gestured to all of me again—But we have anything we need!" I groan, unravelling the first parchment. "We still have to be careful about who we engage in trade with, Gobber. All it takes is for the wrong word to get out..."

"Yes, I know, but we can't just trade with that Dagur lunatic forever."

"We have the Wing Maidens too!" I defend. "And, uh, the three traders."

"Yes, but this tribe—" he taps the paper under my hand, "—has an excellent proposition involving medicinal herbs and high quality fabric."

"And what do they want in return?"

"Just some Gronkle iron and a couple barrels of monstrous nightmare gel."

"Jus—Gobber that's dangerous! If these guys don't turn out to be friendly, do you have any idea about how much damage they could cause to people?!"

"I know, I know, but nobody can touch us! We finished hunting down and disbanding the rest of Grimmel's men and allies months ago. And the trade wouldn't be happening here."

I sigh, rubbing my head, "I just don't know if I'm ready to risk it, yet. I think I'd rather send out a few scouts to check the tribe out first."

"Oh, I'll go!" Snotlout yells excitedly, piping up for the first time since my arrival.

"You're on a flying ban," I deadpan. "And I don't think a nitwit with his butt on fire will make for a good impression."

"You're the one that made my armour!" He defends himself. I hide a smirk behind my raised water mug.

"No, I-I simply put it together after you highlighted the areas you wanted fireproof." I shrug after I lower the drink. I shake my head and change the subject, "I might just send Mum—maybe Fishlegs too. I know he'd like to document their herbs."

"Should I go find them?" Gobber asks but I shake my head. "No, I'll go later."
I look up when the door opens to see Toothless walk in. He spots me and happily makes his way over, being greeted with many affectionate pats by the people he passes. I chuck him my leftover fish once he reaches me, which he happily consumes.

***

"Hey guys, how far along is the sheep census?" I call out to a group of Vikings entering the Greater Hall.

"Two hundred and seventy three in the lower paddock, haven't counted the higher ones. But the sheep got out cause Bucket forgot to close the gate," Mulch answers, shooting a glare at Bucket. "We had to round them up. "

"Hey, he—he's trying, at least!" I defend him, before pointing at Spitelout. "How was your scout?"

"Terrible!" He complains, "There were three Changewings and a Quaken! I nearly died!" He exclaims dramatically. I resist the urge to role my eyes. Gods, Snotlout certainly got his attitude from him.

"But is it habitable?" I press.

"Yes," He grumbles. "There's a fresh river and watering hole near the top middle of the island and the forest is sustainable enough; I saw a few boars and a deer or two. No sign of viking life."

I give a nod. That means we might be able to relocate some of our rescue dragons there, because they're not settling in perfectly here and besides, I don't want us to end up being overpopulated.

We'd have to have people going over consistently to check on them however—which could get dangerous if they're spotted by tribes we're not allied with. I'll talk to Astrid later, see what she thinks. Maybe we could build a storehouse? Spitelout would volunteer and at least we'd have some peace and quiet while he's gone. But either way, it's something to consider. I'm concerned about constant travel there, especially if anyone sees us.

It was difficult enough to tell our allies we were alive.

*** about a year ago ***

"I think the Berserkers caught word of our demise, chief." Eret tells me as he and Skullcrusher walk up to us in the currently-under-construction village square. "I heard they're flying to Berk to check out the damage."

I frown. I'd been so caught up in building New Berk, In recovering from Grimmel, I hadn't found the time to tell them—or any of our allies—of our situation.

And if I was being honest, I was a bit upset that berk had been left on our own with Grimmel. Realistically I know they had no way of knowing, or even reaching us in time, but it would have been nice to have some back up.

"Ok, call a meeting here—" the Great(er) Hall is under construction, "—and I'll work out something."

Eret nods before flying off on Skullcrusher to blow into a horn we'd set up for these situations. I sigh, rubbing my chin in thought. We need to think of a way to get information through to our allies. Flying through the archipelago would be risky, though.

Soon enough, the majority of Berkians are standing before me. "Thanks for coming everyone, I know you want to get back to building and such, but we have a predicament." I begin, "we uh, we forgot to tell our allies we're alive." I rub my neck sheepishly. Several Vikings visibly wince. "Apparently the Berserkers are on their way to Berk to check out the damage. We need to get word to them, but travelling through the archipelago is dangerous."

"We could send terror mail?" Fishlegs suggests.

I shake my head, "We can't, they could think it's fake or a trap, besides they'd never get there in time."

"We wait for them to go back to their island and meet them there? Explain everything?" Mum suggests.

"We could...but I have a feeling they might freak out finding Berk razed. I think they'd probably go island to island for answers."

"Which might bring unwanted attention to us." Astrid adds, realising. I nod in agreement.

"I guess our only option is to fly to Berk, meet them there," I sigh. "But we can't send heaps of us, and we can't be seen. We're going to need to be fast."

"So, how do we know they're going to Berk anyway if we don't talk to people?" Tuffnut points out. "Sounds like someone is lying." He adds, suspicious. While I know he's being overly dramatic, he kind of has a point. I look to Eret for an explanation.

"Oh, right, sorry Chief. I was out visiting some of my old crew, from back when I used to trap, and they told me they'd heard the news from No-name—he's marrying one of the Berserkers." Eret responds. I nod in understanding. I'll have to have a talk with him later about who he visits and to be careful with the information he shares. I trust him, but I have to be thorough.

"Ok. So I think the best thing to do is send a small group of us," I decide. "Toothless and I are an obvious choice—fast and stealthy. Next option is you and Cloudjumper, Mum. And Astrid and Stormfly. We'll leave in an hour. Everyone else stay here unless we send word for you. Continue with the building, don't wreck anything." I glance at the twins. "Hopefully we'll be back in a few days."

I don't have to worry too much about Toothless missing the Light Fury because he came back yesterday from spending about a week with her. It's so weird without him, but I'm hoping we'll get used to it as time goes by.

***

We reach Berk at midnight, which we use to our advantage. Toothless and I fly up to hide near my old house. Seeing it burnt and destroyed doesn't make me feel good, but I know the threat of Grimmel is gone. I told Astrid and mum to stay near the docks, to stay hidden unless they come across the Berserkers. Toothless and I sit up on the rafters, watching silently. The night sky cloaks us from view, especially with the fact that I'm wearing the scale armour and Toothless is, of course, all black.

After a few minutes, we hear voices emerge from the distance.

"Gods, what...happened here?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't look good."
"They—they can't be dead, right?"
"...I hope not. What could have happened here? Who did this?"
"Do you see any—uh, any remains?"

I look at Toothless and nod. We've identified the voices. I wait for them to walk into my line of sight just to confirm it. Sure enough, Dagur, Mala, and a few of their people walk into view with their dragons, holding torches.

We drop down behind them silently. "Hey, guys." I call out into the darkness, startling them. They spin around, defensive, but lower their weapons when they realise its Toothless and I. I lift up my helmet visor and smile at them sheepishly.

"By the ancients! Don't do that!" Mala gasps.
"Brother, you have no idea how glad I am to see you!" Dagur exclaims, "Alive!" He emphasises. I hop off the saddle and walk up to him. I get pulled into a tight hug that has me wheezing and desperately wriggling to get out. "I knew my sis was worried for nothing!"

"Yeah, it's been a rough few weeks... I'll explain everything, just let us call Astrid and my mum." I say finally. Toothless fires a plasma blast into the air, and within a few seconds Mum and Astrid show up.

"Ok, so, please, tell us what's going on! We heard Berk was destroyed and we had to see for ourselves."

I take a deep breath. "Ever heard of Grimmel the Grisly?"

*******
(present time)

Yeah, it was a crazy time. But I'm glad we told them what happened, because if they'd gone on a rampage through the archipelago who knows how we would have gone?! From then we managed to tell our other allies, who were all able to trade with us on New Berk after arranging a few meetings.

It was nice to know how worried for us they were—how much they cared was comforting at the time because I had been feeling a little lost, it felt like almost everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. It felt good to know we still had our allies to back us up. Albeit late, but better late than never.

Life on New Berk is different, but it's all coming together now. We get to have our dragons in peace, without worrying too much about other tribes or people like Grimmel— as far as I'm concerned, everyone that's not an ally thinks we're dead. New Berk isn't very far from the Hidden World, so the dragons can travel to and from it easily. We've found the perfect place to rebuild our lives.

It would be a shame if anything were to happen to us now.

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There we go! First chapter done! Next is a certain web slinger :)
Let me know if you think there's anything I can improve on, or anything I've gotten wrong.
Thanks for reading!