Chapter 1: Surprise in Disguise

It's been an unusual season in cold desolate Berk. It wasn't cold or desolate. The skies perfectly showed a summery day where most of the Vikings of Berk shed their wintry attire. Children ran around the village while most of the adults went about their daily life. The dragons enjoyed this sunny season by laying either on a field of Dragon Nip or by the ocean. However, one particular dragon and his rider could not enjoy this wonderful day.

"Alright Toothless, let's do one last lap around the island," the young chief said as they glided over Berk and towards the forest. Toothless growled in confirmation and the Chief and Alpha began one last loop around their home.

Since becoming the chief and alpha of their tribe, Hiccup and Toothless gained more responsibilities than they wished. Long gone were the days when they could just disappear for more than three days without any worries or duties on Berk. The land was still covered in a few stray ice attacks but Berkians are quick to adapt and built new houses in their old village. After Drago's attack, Berk prospered greatly especially with the new dragons his mother introduced. New stables had to be built, extra fire prevention around the village and forest, and even more feeders with unlimited fish for the dragons. It really was Valhalla for both Vikings and dragons.

"Hey Dad," Hiccup greeted as he flew past the statue of his father that looked over their beloved village. Not a day passes by that Hiccup missed his father's overbearing presence and stubborn determination to protect his family. Now that torch has been passed down to the current chief excluding the overbearing presence but having a Night Fury and defeating Drago helped solidify his status as chief.

It's been a few months since Drago's attack and no danger has come to Berk. That doesn't count the occasional fires and wild dragons of course. Those were easily controlled and prevented. Of course, the new chief and alpha wouldn't be able to do it without the help of their friends. However, even they had their own new responsibilities.

"What do you say we relax for a bit, Toothless? We don't have to be back till before dinner with Mom," suggested Hiccup. The black dragon grunted and flew toward their usual hiding spot, the cove where their friendship blossomed. It was somewhat become a place where Hiccup and Toothless could relax away from Berk while still being close to Berk incase something were to happen.

As the pair got closer to the cove, a slight movement on the water caught their eyes. Hiccup leaned in slightly closer to his Night Fury while whispering, "What do you think that was, Bud?" The dragon lightly growled as if to say he didn't know either. It was either a dragon or a small animal. But Hiccup didn't notice any other movement around the cove. "I might just be seeing things." Hiccup realized he hadn't had any thrill-seeking adventures lately so it was probably his imagination playing with his mind again.

The young chief slid off Toothless's back as soon as his dragon landed in the middle of the cove. His stretched out his muscles while keeping his eyes on the forest around him. He just couldn't shake off the feeling of something watching him.

Suddenly, they heard a twig snap by the trees behind them. Toothless suddenly shot a plasma blast causing the line of trees to catch on fire. Before Hiccup realized what was happening, Toothless sprung into the roaring fires and tackled a Changewing to the ground. They were biting and scratching each other but Toothless still had the upper hand.

"Is that a Changewing?" He didn't recall any Changewings living on Berk. And why would this Changewing be by itself? Where was its pack?

That was when Hiccup was suddenly pushed onto the ground with a blade pressed onto his neck. He could feel a slight cut from where the blade was touching his skin. "Tell your dragon to calm down and stop attacking or else." The voice was slightly gruff but with a light melodic tone. The person had a hood that covered his face so Hiccup couldn't easily recognize him.

He had a sudden adrenaline rush and immediately pushed his attacker on his back while kicking the weapon away with his Inferno blazing right by his attacker's face. Hiccup was surprised to see doe-like eyes glaring right at him as his attacker's hood revealed dark brown hair spread behind her head. "You're a girl?" No wonder Hiccup easily rolled her off of him.

"Yeah. What of it?" she asked with venom laced in her voice. "And I would advice you to get off of me before I turn you into a girl myself."

Hiccup was confused at first until he felt another blade threateningly pressed into his crotch. The young man lightly gulped while slowly getting off the girl. With his weapon still blazing, he held it right in front of him as the girl grabbed her own weapon of choice, which was a long spear.

"Now tell your Night Fury to let Gem go," she demanded.

"Not until you tell me who you are and what you're doing hiding in my forest." Hiccup noticed that Toothless has pinned the Changewing to the ground while barring his teeth and waiting for Hiccup's signal to strike.

"Your forest?"

"Yes. My forest. I'm the Chief of Berk, Hiccup," he declared.

"The Dragon Master?"

Hiccup sighed at the title but confirmed it nonetheless. "Now the polite thing to do would be to say your name."

She lightly scoffed at the mention of his name but kept her unwavering gaze on him. "Dahlia."

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" asked Hiccup as he signaled for Toothless to let go of the Changewing in order to gain a little bit of trust from the new rider. Once the Changewing was free, it flew right beside Dahlia with its wings spread and emanating a deep growl. Toothless was also in attack mode as Hiccup tried to calm him down. The female rider shifted closer to her dragon and lightly petted her head. "Now tell me why you're here."

"Wouldn't you like to know," scoffed the girl as she lightly petted the Changewing to calm her down.

Hiccup was already getting irritated by the minute. "I would. I don't want to have to force it out of you."

"What are you doing here anyway?" asked Dahlia as she walked over to the water.

"I asked you first."

"Well, I asked you second."

Hiccup sighed and put his Inferno away since he didn't feel any threat from this girl. "I needed to be alone for a while."

"Chief life ain't what you thought it would be?" Hiccup turned to her with surprise as she dipped her hand into the water and took a handful for a drink. "I'm gonna take that as a yes."

"What about you?" Hiccup tried to think of some retort for this girl. He couldn't really tell what she would be here for. But finding her reminded him of the days when he traveled with Toothless to get away from his father and responsibilities a long time ago. "Life ain't what you thought it would be?"

Dahlia scoffed and shook her head. "You have no idea. Things aren't how I thought it would turn out to be."

Hiccup remembered when he could never see himself become chief. He was the Hiccup. Becoming chief was the least of his worries before his father's death. Who wanted a Hiccup when you had a Stoick? Now he wished he actually listened to his father's lessons instead of flying off on Toothless. He's been the chief for a few months now and he still hasn't grasped the ropes. As usual, he was a Hiccup.

"I know how that feels." Hiccup walked over to Dahlia and sat on the banks by her.

"It's just… I had plans. Things I wanted to do for myself. But suddenly, everything just came crashing down. It's like I'm stuck." Dahlia looked over at Hiccup. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You probably have other things to do than listen to my problems."

Before Hiccup could reply a loud horn echoed through the forest making both riders freeze in their spots. That cannot be good.

"Well, I think that's my cue to leave. I'll see you later, Chief." Dahlia pulled up her hood and stepped closer to her dragon. The Changewing flapped its wings causing fallen leaves to dance around the pair and dust rose causing Hiccup and Toothless' visions to be impaired. When the dust and leaves fell, both the Changewing and the rider were gone.

"Where did she go?" Hiccup exclaimed in annoyance. The dragon growled as it sniffed around for the pair but they were nowhere to be found. Now he has one more problem to add to his never-ending list, but first he needed to fly back to the village. Hiccup sighed in annoyance, but he knew he couldn't ignore the horn from earlier. His duties for the people of Berk weighed greater than his curiosity. He and Toothless can deal with the new rider later. Right now, his presence was needed in his tribe. Before flying off, a small part of Hiccup hoped a new threat or annoyance hasn't found its way to Berk.

Hi Everybody! I know I can't make up excuses about my absence but these past couple of months have been hard on me and I just didn't have time to write anything. But I'm back and I changed some stuff about the stories, but not big changes. I'm really not sure when updates are gonna be but I'll try to update every week.

Please enjoy and leave a review!