Heather

Heather is a female character first introduced in the How to Train Your Dragon television series, Dragons: Riders of Berk.

Heather returns in Dragons: Race to the Edge with a dragon of her own, a Razorwhip named Windshear, as well as more on her past is revealed.

Background
Heather is the daughter of Oswald the Agreeable and sister to Dagur the Deranged. She was given a horn by Hooligan chieftain Stoick the Vast. However, she was separated from her family and was taken in by a couple who raised her as their own daughter.

Riders of Berk
Heather is first found under a wrecked boat, when the Dragon Riders check out the scene. She becomes frightened at the first sight of them. She then tells them that pirates attacked her family's ship and were laying siege to her island. Trying to make her feel better, Hiccup let her stay at his house until they got things sorted out. That night, however, Astrid saw Heather spying on her and Stormfly, thus becoming suspicious of the newcomer.

The next morning, Hiccup was trying to find a way to make Toothless have a greater speed. Heather helped Hiccup figure out a way to increase Toothless' speed by using a shorter connecting rod, which would push the rider back in the saddle more, making them more streamlined. Hiccup thanks her for the suggestion. While the two tested it out, Hiccup ended up missing his meet up with Astrid to check their dragons' timing. When they got to the Academy, Heather began to realize Astrid's animosity when she asked her if she slept well and was given a glare. She was then showed the Book of Dragons, and Astrid grabbed it when Heather asked to see it. Though Astrid tried to warn Hiccup, he said he trusted her.

Heather began to ask the other boys about their dragons and their abilities. Afterwards, she looked around Hiccup's room for the Book of Dragons to find information on Deadly Nadders. Astrid caught Heather, but she managed to convince Hiccup that she was cleaning his room and found it. Astrid then tells Hiccup about seeing Heather sneaking around last night, but once again she tells him that she went for a walk because she was having nightmares. Astrid storms off, and Heather apologizes for reading the book, though Hiccup still trusts her.

Heather then sneaks off to Stormfly's pen and tries to gain her trust by feeding her chicken. Astrid catches her again, but this time Heather doesn't use her "innocent routine," saying Astrid was too smart for it in a cocky manner. She further pushes her buttons when even Stormfly was taking a liking to her.

Later, when Stoick and Hiccup are clearing the table, Heather goes for the book under Hiccup's bed. However, Hiccup has it with him, leaving her in a desperate situation. Heather then makes her way to the beach, unaware that Astrid, who was in the forest venting, was following her. Heather met up with Savage, revealing she was working with the Outcasts. She explains that the Riders have a book with everything they know about dragons, though she doesn't have it. Begging for more time, she tells Savage she will get it. Astrid accidentally knocks over some pebbles, alerting Heather to make her way back. Astrid tries to warn Hiccup with what she discovered, but Heather is already in bed, apparently having been asleep the whole time.

The next morning, Heather not only makes off with the Book of Dragons, but Stormfly as well. While she tries to fly her, Heather is unskilled at dragon riding, moving in a sloppy manner. Finally convinced, the Dragon Riders chase, and soon catch up to her. Astrid manages to jump onto Stormfly's back and the two girls fight for her and the book. When they cross into Outcast territory, Astrid knocks Heather off, along with the book. Snotlout catches her while Hiccup tries to grab the book. However, the Outcasts fire at him and Toothless, forcing them to retreat. Leaving the Book of Dragons in the hands of Alvin the Treacherous.

Heather is then locked up in Berk. She breaks out of jail and runs toward a boat but Astrid catches her. After being thrown back in her cell, Heather reveals that the only reason she worked for Alvin was because he had her parents. Astrid questions her pirate story and she admits she made it up. Heather says she did it because she needed the Riders to trust her, but Astrid, unmoved, tells that they no longer trusted her.

When Astrid poses as her to retrieve the Book of Dragons with Hiccup and the others as backup, Heather gets a plan. Bucket comes with cabbage soup and sees that the jail is empty. He goes inside, and Heather, on the ceiling, jumps and knocks him out. Heather manages to escape and takes Stormfly again, but this time to help the teens. Astrid manages to retrieve the book and rescue Heather's parents, after learning she was telling the truth. When Heather finally gets to Outcast Island, she helps the teens fight back. After getting the Book of Dragons and headed back to Berk, Heather and Astrid have finally become friends, as she thanks her for saving her family. Heather leaves Berk with her parents.

Some time later, Heather's village was attacked by Dagur the Deranged. After that, she found and trained a Razorwhip, naming her Windshear. The two later started to raid ships and redistributing the stolen goods back to their rightful owners.

Race to the Edge
In Have Dragon Will Travel Part I, one of her raids was spotted by Bucket and Mulch, thus drawing attention of Berk's Dragon Riders and was tracked back to her camp. One by one, she incapacitates them until only Hiccup is left. After a chase, Hiccup corners Heather and she reveals her identity. She explains she only did it because she had made a lot of enemies and she didn't want the Riders to get involved. After clearing things up, Hiccup and the riders invited her to stay at the Dragon's Edge.

When they asked how she trained a Razorwhip, Heather explained it was because of training the Riders showed her. After telling them how she and Windshear met, they soon noticed a more intense side to Heather. While this worried Hiccup, Astrid enjoyed it.

Later that evening, Hiccup asks why Heather was attacking ships, but she just tells him not to worry, though Hiccup is. She tells him that a lot has happened in the last few years, how everything had changed for her. Hiccup is still surprised by her change, even unsure it's the real her. Heather is about to tell him what happened, but shrugs it off. Hiccup assures her that the others are there for her. Heather thanks him for being a great friend.

That night, Heather locks the dragons in their pens so she can't be followed. Unknown to her, Hiccup and Toothless are not far behind. She then meets up with Trader Johann to get the information she's looking for. Heather then heads out to find Dagur, to get her revenge for her parents and village. However, Dagur was not traveling alone, and used the chains from the Reaper to capture her and Windshear. Thankfully, Hiccup and Toothless arrive in time and blast the winches, freeing them. While Heather wants to stay and fight, Hiccup convinces her to retreat for Windshear's safety.

On the way back, Hiccup explains that he knows Dagur wiped out her village and tries to tell her she doesn't have to do everything alone, though Heather tells him she feels destined to be alone. She admits to him she was actually separated from her birth family at a young age. All she could really remember was her father's hands and the smell of his shield he let her play with. She also tells him her horn was given to her by her birth father, wishing to know who he was.

After arriving back at Dragon's Edge, Heather apologized for locking up the dragons, thinking the Riders wouldn't let her go if they knew what she was up to. The Dragon Riders bury the hatchet, saying Heather was one of them now. Once again, they, excluding Hiccup, swoon over her, but Astrid pulls her away for some girl time.

The two quickly bond at target practice. Astrid still wants Heather to show her how she made her axe. Heather then asks if Astrid and Hiccup were a couple, throwing Astrid's focus off. She explains that they are just friends, but Heather doesn't buy it. Astrid then pokes about her and Snotlout, though Heather says she likes a little smarts, like Fishlegs. Astrid teases this, finding it hard to believe. The girls move on to another activity, jumping of cliffs and grabbing on to their dragons. Astrid makes it, but Heather misses, though Windshear catches her in time.

Heather decides to show Astrid something at her camp. There they meet up with Johann, who was worried about Heather as she was not around. The two explain that Johann is Heather's informant on Dagur. He tells them that Dagur is about to make a deal for some new ships with anti-dragon catapults and grappling hooks in the Sea of Despair. After the deal is done, Johann won't be able to find him again. Heather and Astrid head back to the dragon camp for reinforcements, but the Riders are unsure as Hiccup and Toothless, who have headed to Berk, are not there, even Astrid. Heather is hurt by this, thinking that all they had said about having her back was just talk. But before she leaves, the others have decided to join her, as long as it was just a capture mission. Heather agrees, saying they'll sink Dagur's armada and throw him back in prison on Outcast Island. Astrid leaves the map for Hiccup to find so he can meet up with them later.

When they arrive, the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs distract Dagur's crew, while Astrid, Heather and their dragons sneak aboard. The two quickly capture Dagur, and when Heather tells Windshear to finish him off, Astrid protests, but Heather has changed her mind, as Dagur didn't capture her village. He is able to tell Heather something, but she gags him, giving the signal to Windshear, only to be stopped by Toothless' blast. Hiccup arrives, trying to tell Heather not to do this, but she isn't shaken, until he tells her his father's seal is caved into Heather horn, which he found earlier. He explains that years ago, Stoick gave it to Oswald the Agreeable for his newborn daughter, telling her he was Heather's father, as well as Dagur's father. Heather is horrified, realizing that Dagur the Deranged, the person who destroyed everything she had, is actually her very own brother!

When the rest of Dagur's fleet shows up, Hiccup tells Heather they need to go, but she is still in shock. Dagur offers Heather to join him, as he's the only family she has left. He even tempted her by saying he knows she feels the Berserker blood flowing through her veins. She gets to her feet, grabs her ax, and leaps over Dagur onto Windshear. She glares at him, unable to accept him as her brother, but still spares his life.

That evening, Heather begins packing to leave. Astrid tries to convince her to stay, where she'll be safe and have support. Heather refuses, as she has a lot to figure out. Heather thanks Astrid, saying it was great to have a friend again before taking off.

Heather returned when she was on the Dragon Hunters' ship. Thinking she was captured as well, Astrid tried to tell her to run, but surprised when Dagur showed up. Heather claimed to have joined her brother and the Dragon Hunters. The next episode, Astrid was furious at Heather for betraying the Riders after all they had done for her. Heather decided to join Dagur as he was the only family she had left, and said he would never hurt her. When the Dragon Riders escaped, Heather confronted Astrid when she was trying to save Stormfly, which she appeared to be victorious. When Dagur came up with the idea to throw the riders overboard, Heather insisted they use them for work and take them to Viggo, which Ryker agreed too. While Dagur was mad at Heather for turning down his idea, she said she did it to protect him. If the riders escaped, Ryker would be blamed and not Dagur. To this Dagur happily said she was his sister.

When Hiccup and Snotlout gave the other a chance to escape, Heather took on Astrid, instead of letting two dragon hunters. Though a quick scuffle, Astrid knocks Heather off her feet, and again races to Stormfly. Heather follows her, pulling out her axe while Astrid grabs Stormfly's chains. Appearing to have been beaten, Heather returns to Dagur and Ryker, who then later claimed they were closer to the Dragon Eye.

Heather was then found camping out in a snowstorm on Glacier Island. She then encountered Astrid, and while they, and their dragons, stood off, the two soon hugged, revealing Heather was not actually working with the Dragon Hunters, but spying on them. She even sent Dagur on an impossible quest to find another Dragon Eye. It was also Heather who gave the information to Astrid about them coming to Glacier Island and not Trader Johann like she claimed. Heather told Astrid about a cave where she believed the Snow Wraith was hibernating and planned to keep Ryker along the coast. Though Astrid was uncomfortable about keeping this a secret from Hiccup, since she never lied to him. But Heather insists to keep the other riders in the dark.

Heather tried to convince Ryker, but he still insisted on checking the caves. Heather purposely revealed their location to the Riders, and saved Hiccup from being shot at by a hunter by knocking him out. Ryker then command Heather to use Windshear to trapped the dragon riders, which she hesitantly agreed to. After the hunters captured the Snow Wraiths, the Riders manages to take them back to relocate, while Hiccup went after Heather and Ryker. Hiccup was about to shoot them down, forcing Astrid to tell him that Heather was on their side, giving her a chance to escape.

Astrid explained, back on Dragon's Edge, that Heather only got close to Dagur so she could avenge her family. When she found about about the Dragon Hunters, she continued the charade to find a way to taken them down as well. According to Heather, the leader of the Dragon Hunters was not Ryker, but a man named Viggo Grimborn, whom everyone was afraid of. Since Viggo stayed in the shadows, Heather planned to work with the Hunters to draw him out.

Heather joined in the attack seize Dragon's Edge while trying to give Ruffnut a chance to escape. During first part, she pretended to see and get caught in an ambush, sending one of the search parties running. Heather had Windshear shoot a spine at Ruffnut's head, so she could get free and take Windshear to get backup. Though while doing this, Ruffnut head butted her. When Hiccup and the others showed up, Heather used her horn to call Windshear back.

During an attack by Hiccup's riders, Ryker begins to question Heather's loyalty. During the raid, she has Windshear fire at Snotlout and the twins to make the fight believable. She even had Windshear take a spike from Stormfly. When Ryker confronted her, Dagur defended her, much to Heather's surprise. Then one of the hunters gave a message to Ryker about regrouping with Viggo. Heather asked Dagur what he knew about the Dragon Hunter leader, telling her he was very clever and that everyone was afraid of him, even his own brother. When Dagut joked about having family conflict, this made Heather slightly nervous.

When Heather, Dagur, and Ryker met Viggo in his tent, the leader began to talk about a game called Maces and Talons, using it as an example about trust and trickery. During this moment, one of the hunters was brought in for taking some goods. Surprisingly, Viggo spared the man, and sent the others off to get some rest, except Heather. He told her about his knowledge of a traitor, questioning if it was Dagur or Ryker. He then told Heather of his plan to capture a Flightmare.

Heather later met up with Astrid and Hiccup about the plan. She gave them a map that she used to track the Mystery Class dragon, also telling them it was going to be just her, Windshear, and Viggo. The three planned an ambush to take out Viggo for good. However, when Heather and Viggo arrived to the island, she discovered Viggo already knew she was the traitor, and sent his fleet to the island. After fighting off several hunters, Heather and Windshear joined the Dragon Riders. But when the Flightmare was captured, she tried to save it. This led to her and Windshear being caught as well.

Later, Heather tried to reason with Dagur into letting her go, since they were family. Though Dagur refused, even argued about how she tried to kill him before. Heather explains she didn't know they were siblings at the time, and that he also had wiped out her village. While this does cause Dagur to think for a moment, he still locks her up.

After a conversation with Ryker, Dagur leads Heather, along with two guards into a cave, then knocks the hunters out. He then frees Heather and reunites her with Windshear. The two do not speak, as Dagur walks off. Heather then helps Hiccup and Astrid redirect the Flightmare away from the island. However, she and Windshear disappear afterwards without a word.

Personality
Heather is quite intelligent, and able to think her way out of trouble. While she may seem deceptive and aggressive at first, she actually has a kind nature, going to extremes to protect those she cares about, even if it means betrayal.

Heather also appears to value trust, even with her enemies. This trait made it easy for her to work with the dragons. However, after losing her adoptive family, she had a hard time letting people in, usually trying to do things on her own. This causes Heather to make the wrong choices, even if for the right reasons. This shows that the loss of her family unhinged her a little bit.

Heather's encounters with the Dragon Riders, as well as Dagur, affected her greatly. She has become a vigilante for justice and strengthened herself as a warrior. She even returns stolen loot from pirates to their rightful owners. She still shows compassion and care for the Riders, not wanting them to get involved with her mission, most likely to keep them safe.

Heather is very observant, thus very knowledgeable. She asks Astrid if she and Hiccup are together when she notices how close they are.

She is also shown to hold and overcome grudges against those who did her wrong, namely her brother.

While at first Heather was quite nervous around dragons, her time on Berk, and after meeting Windshear, she has developed a love for them. Heather is shown to taking an interesting in learning about dragons, such as tracking the Flightmare. She has become determined to protect species, as such she wanted to take down the Dragon Hunters for good.

Role in the series
Heather reprises her role in the series as an ally to the Dragon Crew. Though she is still struggling with her lineage as the sister of a deranged maniac, she is still perfectly willing to assist in the battle against evil.