★★★

Chapter 4
The Village Tour

★★★

After following Hiccup through the small village, they stopped in front of the largest hut that was visible from the square. Despite its size compared to the other buildings, it was still much smaller than Katherine had imagined houses to be from what she read in her books. Her eyes wandered over the worn-out wood and what looked like a roof covered in straw. As soon as she was finished taking in the sight in front of her, Katherine followed Hiccup to the small stable around the back of the house. The redheaded girl was in awe of all the horses that occupied the stable while the brunette boy went to change out of his riding gear.

Katherine's smile never faded as she walked through the small building until she reached the very end. Most of the horses in the stable were poking their heads out of the top of their stalls and looking for attention, except for the one in the very last stall. The redheaded girl's attention got the better of her as she approached the end to find the smallest horse she'd ever seen munching on hay without a care in the world. Katherine just watched the horse in curiosity until the animal's big brown eyes landed on her. The horse studied her for a long moment then slowly made its way over to where she stood.

The redheaded girl's whole body froze as the pony came to a stop right in front of her before nudging her hand with its large nose. It continued to stare at her with a hint of interest in its eyes, making Katherine hesitantly reach out and run her fingers through its mane. As the redheaded girl continued to stroke the small creature, it closed its eyes as if to take in every move she made.

"I'm surprised he let you touch him," a new voice cut through the silence, causing Katherine's entire body to stiffen before she turned around to face the blonde girl from the forest. The one Hiccup called Astrid. As soon as she stopped right next to the redheaded girl, Astrid reached out to pet the horse like Katherine was currently doing, only for the pony to let out a huff and go back to eating from its pail of hay. Katherine's eyebrows immediately came together in confusion before she looked up to find Astrid smiling as she continued to watch the small animal.

"Kinda figured that would happen. Mouse isn't really a people horse," the blonde girl laughed as she turned around to face the girl standing next to her before extending her hand out to her, "I'm Astrid, by the way."

"Katherine," the redheaded girl responded with a hint of hesitation in her voice as she shook Astrid's hand before turning her attention back to the uninterested small animal at the back of the stall, "You named the horse Mouse? Like after the rodent? No wonder he doesn't like you. I wouldn't either if you made fun of my size."

"We didn't name him after his size. We named him after his color," a much deeper voice said from behind the two girls, causing Katherine to jump and spin around to face a boy with dark brown hair and matching brown eyes, "although, now that you mention it, the name could work for his size, too."

"I told you to wait outside, Fishlegs," Astrid told the boy with a hint of annoyance in her voice as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, "we don't wanna overwhelm her and scare her away."

"Be grateful I was able to keep Snotlout and the Twins outside," Fishlegs responded while holding his hands up in mock surrender.

Katherine couldn't help but let out a small laugh at their bickering, which made Astrid and Fishlegs send her smiles. It wasn't long after that when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching them before the three of them turned around to see Hiccup walking toward them. As soon as he saw the two people standing with the redheaded girl, a slightly irritated look appeared on his face before he stopped right in front of them.

"You guys couldn't have waited like ten more minutes before talking to her?" the brunette boy questioned as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"In our defense, we don't get visitors here very often," Fishlegs responded to his best friend while keeping a playful smile on his face.

"And like Fishlegs told me, be lucky we kept Snotlout and the Twins out," Astrid added, only for Hiccup to let out another sigh before he gestured toward the door.

Katherine sent Mouse another small smile before she followed the three teens out of the stables. As soon as they walked out of the small building, they headed toward the house that Katherine and Hiccup walked past when they first went to the stables. The brunette boy led all of them up the steps before pushing the door open and allowing them inside. Once he closed the door behind them, the redheaded girl picked up on the sound of footsteps against the wood before a tall redheaded man appeared from around the corner. The man sent Hiccup and his friends a large smile and was about to speak when his eyes landed on Katherine. His smile instantly fell and a confused look soon formed on his face as he studied the unknown girl.

"Who's this?" the man questioned as his attention left Katherine and fell back on the three teens standing next to her.

"Dad, this is Katherine. We found her wandering around the village," Hiccup explained to his father before he turned to face the redheaded girl, still keeping a smile plastered onto his face, "Katherine, this is my dad, Stoick the Vast. He's the chief of the village."

At first sight, you wouldn't believe the two were related whatsoever. While Hiccup was slim with brown hair and bright green eyes, his father was much taller with a much bigger build and hair very similar to Katherine's. Even their faces were differently shaped. Katherine believed that Hiccup took more after his mother, but she wasn't about to ask where the woman was.

Katherine hesitated for a moment as she stared up at the man before she forced a smile onto her face and held a hand out toward him. "It's nice to meet you, sir. You have a very nice village."

The skeptical look never left Stoick's face as he shook the redheaded girl's hand. Katherine's nerves immediately grew when her hand disappeared into his, but she did her best not to show it. If she was going to stay in their village like Hiccup had planned, Katherine knew she had to make a good impression on his father. He was the chief of their village, after all. And the redheaded girl knew the leader always has the final say.

Katherine tried her best to keep a smile on her face as they ended their handshake. Hiccup took that as an opportunity to place himself between the girl and his father. As soon as Stoick saw the look on his son's face, he knew Hiccup was about to ask him something he wasn't about to like.

"So, Dad. Katherine needs a place to stay for a while," the Haddock boy said, earning a slightly annoyed look from his father before he continued speaking, "is there any way she can stay here?"

The first thing Katherine noticed was the irritation in Stoick's eyes growing, causing the former to take an unconscious step back. What felt like an eternity passed before the redheaded man finally answered his son. "A lot of people don't take kindly to strangers, Hiccup. You know this. The last time we let someone stay, there was nothing but trouble."

"It's just until she finds another place to go," the brunette boy argued while Astrid and Fishlegs looked up at their chief with pleading looks in their eyes.

"I won't cause any trouble," Katherine spoke up, surprising everyone, including herself, before she continued speaking, "I promise. You won't even notice I'm here."

Once again, Stoick stared at her with skepticism in his eyes while the redheaded girl did her best not to squirm under his gaze. It wasn't long after the chief let out a long sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers before opening his mouth to speak. "Fine, she can stay. But if she brings us any trouble, she's gone."

"Thank you, sir," was all the redheaded girl was able to say before Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs rushed to get her out of the house so Stoick couldn't change his mind.

As soon as they got back out into the village square, three more teens came sprinting toward them before stopping a few yards away. Katherine just stared at them with a shocked expression on her face while they looked back at her with mischief in their eyes and giant smiles on their faces. When the redheaded girl looked back at Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs, she found the latter of the two staring at the newcomers with irritation in their eyes while the brunette boy was copying his father's actions by pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hi, I'm Snotlout," the raven-haired boy in front of her greeted then held his hand out to Katherine, who returned the gesture with a confused look in her eyes and a forced smile on her face. As soon as their greeting ended, Snotlout pointed back at the blonde pair behind him. "And that's Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Just to warn you, they're a little strange."

"It's nice to meet all of you," the redheaded girl responded while trying her best not to let her nerves show, "I'm Katherine."

Before their conversation could continue, Astrid grabbed Katherine's wrist and pulled her away from the other four with Hiccup right on their heels. The blonde girl's laughter filled the air as the three of them walked toward another hut in the village. As soon as they reached the small building, the Hofferson girl pushed open the door and lead her new friend and the brunette boy inside.

"You're probably gonna be staying with me since it is just me living here," the blonde girl said before she, Hiccup, and Katherine sat down on a couple of chairs placed in front of a window, "I'll be honest, I'm surprised you trust us after meeting us not too long ago."

"Who said I trusted you?" Kather smirked, causing Hiccup to send her a mocked hurt gesture while the grin on Astrid's face grew.

"Oh, I like you. I think the two of us will get along just fine."

★★★

After getting to know Hiccup and Astrid a bit better for a few hours, the Hofferson girl finally allowed their four other friends into her house before they sat down for dinner. As soon as they were finished, they all cleaned up the plates and silverware they used while their laughter continued to fill the air that surrounded them. Once we finished cleaning up, Katherine went with the four boys and Ruffnut to feed the horses one last time while Astrid went to find some extra pillows and a blanket for the redheaded girl to use.

While the boys and Ruffnut went to brush out the horses and refill their water, Katherine grabbed the small bucket of hay that was near Hiccup's feet and went to the back of the stable. A small neigh was heard as she continued to walk towards the last stall. When she was about five feet away from the stall, a small gray head stuck out from the top opening. Katherine let out a small laugh at the sight of the tiny snout before she stopped right in front of Mouse's stall. The little horse pranced around in excitement as the redheaded girl pushed opened the door and made her way inside. As soon as she placed the hay on the ground, the tiny gray horse rushed over and began to eat while Katherine refilled his water pail. After quickly brushing out Mouse's fur, the redheaded girl placed the brush back on its hook and left the stall. A small smile formed on my face as she turned around to go find Hiccup, only to find him standing a few feet away from her with a matching grin on his face.

"I'm still surprised that horse actually likes you. Were you some kind of horse whisperer before coming here?" the brunette boy said as the two of them made their way out of the stable to join the rest of their friends and head back to Astrid's house.

"Actually, I never came in contact with a horse before today. I know it's strange but...let's just say I didn't really get out much," Katherine told him, causing the smirk on his face to slightly falter. Just as they were about to reach their destination, a large object rolled past them, almost hitting the redheaded girl along the way. Her eyes stay glued to it as it continued on its way until it was out of sight. A large smile made its way onto Katherine's face as a turned to look up at Hiccup, who was staring back at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes while the rest watched her in confusion. "That was so cool! What was that?!"

"Uh...that's just a tumbleweed," Snotlout told her before a smirk slowly formed on his face, "it's not nearly as interesting as some of the other things we have around here."

"Like what?" Katherine questioned, completely unaware of the glare Hiccup was sending his friend's way.

"You'll just have to wait and see," the Haddock boy told the redheaded girl as he turned his attention back to her, only to find her watching the tumbleweed with wonder in her eyes, "when you said you didn't get out much, you really meant it."

"This girl is crazier than the two of us combined," Tuffnut whispered to his twin just loud enough for everyone to hear then he raised his hands in the air and shouted, "she's perfect!"

A small laugh passed over Katherine's lips in response to his actions before the Thorston twins wrapped their arms around the redheaded girl's shoulders. As they continued escorting her toward Astrid's house, Ruffnut told something to Katherine that caused Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Snotlout's nerves double.

"Don't worry, Tuff and I will teach you everything you need to know."

★★★