Chapter 3

The other six Vikings were hanging around in the hot springs that were in the ice caves. Freydis Rose and Mikaela were splashing each other in the springs while Arthyr and Katie sat awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact. Symmia was trying to gather wood since she knew Dreww was not going to do his job, and Freya sat in her own little corner since she refused to be social.

"We're back!" MK yelled. "And we have company."

"Company? You mean we don't actually have to be loners today?" Freydis Rose asked excitedly.

"Don't listen to her, we like being alone." MK glared at Freydis.

Freydis and Mikaela walked up to the young man and woman with dragons to introduce themselves. They flinched a little when approaching the dragons.

"It's okay, they won't hurt you." Hiccup said.

"Hi, I'm Freydis Rose, but just call me Freydis! I'm the adventurer and the fun one of the group," said the red-haired Viking.

The other girl was already touching the dragon, but she paused to introduce herself. "And I'm Mikaela, Freydis' guard. We go everywhere together because MK makes us have a buddy system."

MK took it from there. "These two are Katie and Arthyr. They act super awkward around each other, but all of us know that they secretly like each other."

They both got really red and glared at her.

"Hey!" shouted Katie.

"Shut up, Katie! We know you love him!"

Dreww began making kissy lips and noises with his mouth. Arthyr attacked him, and they started rolling around in a corner.

A second older Viking wandered out from a corner of the cave. "See what I have to deal with every day? Try having two younger brothers."

Everyone turned to look at her, and she glanced down shyly. "My name's Symmia."

MK added, "Symmia's probably the most helpful person around here. She hunts and gathers our food supply. And that—" She pointed at another random Viking in a corner "—is Freya. She's the loner of the group. She never talks to anyone, so good luck getting her to talk to you."

The chief of Berk was shaking his head. "You're a very interesting Viking family, aren't you?"

Dreww stopped fighting Arthyr for a moment. "We aren't all related, you know! I'm not related to Miss Positivity over there." He waved his arm at Freya.

"Well, you're certainly not rainbows and unicorns all the time yourself, Dreww," Freydis commented.

The emo Viking made a kissy face at her. "You know you love me."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Ugh! You remind me of a certain someone back on Berk."

"I bet he's not as good looking as me."

Astrid reached for her ax, but Hiccup cut her off. "Astrid, we don't need any more crazy people in this situation. Okay, we need to get you all to the School of Dragons." He pointed at Katie and Arthyr. "You two lovebirds can ride together with my good friend, Fishlegs."

Dreww burst out laughing. "You guys have to ride with a fish that has legs!"

"Shut up!" Arthyr elbowed him in the ribs.

"Knock it off, you two! We need to listen to Hiccup," scolded MK.

"The two adventurers will be riding with Astrid," the chief of Berk continued.

"Yes!" cheered Freydis and Mikaela, and even Astrid looked happy about it. "I'm glad I get to ride with some of the most sane people here," she said.

"Says the girl who almost killed us all with an ax," smirked Dreww.

Hiccup smiled. "And you, sir, get to ride with Miss Positivity over there. My…sorta-friend, Snotlout, will be taking you."

"Whatever. You know, I hate you for this," Drew glared. "But I have the perfect punishment. I'll go meditate for four hours. OM…"

Freya didn't say anything, but you could hear her sharpening her knives in the background.

"Thank you all for your undying support," Hiccup said sarcastically. "MK and Symmia, you'll be riding with me."

MK smiled slightly. "You really don't know when to stop, do you?"

"Nope. I never listen."

Hiccup lead the two oldest Vikings to a sleek, black dragon that reminded them of a panther yet acted like a dog. Symmia's eyes lit up when saw the creature, but she was unsure of how to approach it. MK crossed her arms. She didn't know if she could trust these dragon riders yet.

"This is Toothless, my best friend. Don't worry, he's harmless. Dragons are our friends now. Come up and put your hands on his nose. You'll see that you have nothing to worry about."

Both of the young women were hesitant to follow Hiccup's advice. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then moved forward at the same time. After they greeted Toothless, the dragon stood up on his hind legs and grinned a toothless smile.

Symmia was confused. "Are you sure this is a normal dragon? He doesn't have any teeth."

"Actually, he's one of a kind. But he does have teeth—they're retractable."

"Really?" MK was impressed. "So, where will we be sitting?"

Hiccup briefly showed them the saddle, then sent off a terror mail to inform Fishlegs and Snotlout that their services were needed. He also reluctantly invited the twins as backup. The Ice Nomads impatiently waited for the other riders to arrive. Two of them were still irritated about the seating arrangement. Finally, more people on dragons showed up and the Ice Nomads went to meet their designated rider.

Dreww smirked as he approached the foreign Vikings. "Why are you guys wearing stupid helmets with horns on your head?"