I neither on nor claim any rights to How to Train Your Dragon...

A RIPPLE IN TIME
Chapter 7 – To Be Useful

Oscar awakened yet again in the bed in the healer's house. But this time, his full memory was present. He remembered it all coming back in an overwhelming rush that caused him to black out. Hiccup and Astrid must have brought him back here. Oscar looked around. It was mostly dark with just one small candle burning on the other side of the room, offering just enough light for Gothi to make her way around, doing whatever it was she needed to do to care for her patient. Movement caught his eye as a shadow detached itself from the rest of the gloom. He breathed a sigh of relieve as he realized that it was just Gothi standing up from the chair she had fallen asleep in. Apparently just waking up and glancing around was noisy enough to the old woman to alert her to a change.

She walked to Oscar's bedside table, picked up a corked bottle, shook it, pulled the cork and poured a dark liquid into a cup, which she held out to him. Even a good two feet from him, the contents gave off an pungent odor that, while not particularly unpleasant, made his nose itch. He shook his head, and Gothi pushed the cup at him, frowning. He knew that look all too well, His grandmother gave him that look when he tried to refuse medicine she gave him. It hadn't been easy for either of them after she took him in after her daughter and husband had died in that awful car crash. Oscar's heart skipped a beat and he was overwhelmed with grief as the restored memory of that resurfaced. Gothi's stern expression softened into concern.

"It's okay, ma'am." he said, taking the cup and drinking its contents. "I remember everything now, and I thought of something... unpleasant... from my childhood." He handed the cup back, and Gothi patted him on the hand as she took it from him. Whatever the medicine was, it started having an immediate effect. His body began to feel like it was floating, his muscles beginning to relax. It didn't dull his senses, though, and it didn't make him drowsy. But it felt good to lay there with absolutely no tension. He wished he had had access to the stuff after a long, mind-numbing day at work. It was amazing just how much stress one could build up sitting at a computer in a cubicle all day, especially with agents calling and telling him to hurry up with their clients' files, never mind that he had only received the work orders for them moments before and was already backlogged with orders that had come in before. Maybe if they wouldn't wait until the last damned minute...

He chuckled as a thought came to him. He was in a Viking village, who knew how many years in the past, with no apparent way to get back. That wasn't his job anymore. And now with full memory of his life, knowing he was not in any relationship back home in the future, and lived totally on his own, he realized that he was just fine with it. The money was fair, but where he was now seemed to thrive more on a barter system than a monetary-based economy. Somehow, that appealed to him. That and the fact that there were real, living, breathing dragons sharing the village.

Gothi had returned to her chair, and the rhythmic whistle-sigh of a dogdragon sleeping on one of the other beds caused Oscar to drift off into a contented sleep.

O O O

When he awoke the next morning, Oscar felt refreshed and full of energy. He was feeling an overwhelming connection to Berk and its people. Mostly due to the new personal beginning they represented for him. He wanted to become a part of this society. He wanted to learn what he could and use what he learned to contribute to it. And he wanted to learn to ride a dragon.

He knew there was concern about who he was, where he came from, and what his intentions would be. He needed to remove those concerns by earning genuine trust and standing. These people helped him. And he would do what he could to help them in return. There was nothing as a data entry clerk he could offer. But he always prided himself to be a fast learner. And one thing from the previous day he remembered vividly was how clean the air was, and how just breathing its cold sharpness invigorated him in a way that he had not experienced before. He had been an indoor person most of his life, accustomed to creature comforts and technology. But here and now, none of that seemed to matter to him. So what to do?

Gothi looked him over and nodded, and sent out one of her dogdragons again. Astrid showed up again not long after, looking concerned "You gave us a bit of a scare, yesterday," she said.

"Everything came back to me at once," Oscar responded. "It was very disorienting. I feel great, today."

"That's great," Astrid said. "Shall we finish the tour?"

"Actually," Oscar began. "I would really like to talk to Chief Stoick. I want to repay you all for taking me in while I recovered, and I want to find out how best to go about it."

Astrid regarded Oscar admiringly. "You want to be put to work?" This was new for her. Most of the time, people tried to find ways to get out of doing work. The twins were the king and queen of laziness and procrastination. Snotlout wasn't much better, spending more time trying to look strong and capable than actually putting his strength and capability into practice. Fishlegs wasn't much into physical labor, but he did his fair share, and he used his mind to come up with solutions. The only one among her peers who seemed willing and able to serve, in many cases more than was needed, was Hiccup. And now, here was a stranger with no obligation to Berk expressing a desire to serve.

"If that is what it takes," was Oscar's answer. "As I was telling you yesterday, my job back where I come from, was tedious and boring. I want to be useful. I may be stuck here for a long time, and I want to earn my keep."

Astrid nodded. "Well then, let's go see Stoick. He should be having breakfast in the great hall right about now."

They exited Gothi's house. Stormfly was waiting on the balcony. Seeing Oscar, she approached and nudged him in the chest. "Good to see you, too," he said, resting a hand on her snout, just below her horn. The Nadder crooned at him.

"She was concerned about you," Astrid said. "When you passed out yesterday."

"They really are sensitive creatures, aren't they?" Oscar observed.

"You have no idea," Astrid said with a grin. "Hop on behind me."

"Are you serious?" Oscar looked at Astrid, incredulous.

"Hey," she said. "If you're going to be staying in Berk, you might as well get used to riding a dragon. Besides, you could probably use some breakfast, and if we walk, there may not be anything left when we get there."

He couldn't argue with her logic. After she climbed into her saddle, he managed to get on the dragon behind her.

"Hold on to me," she told him. "Stormfly is one of the most graceful dragons I know, but when a nadder takes off, it can be unsettling for a first-time rider."

He wrapped his arms around her waist, swallowing hard as he did. Even though he was at least fifteen years older than her, he was still human, and a male. And with no physical intimacy in his life, having his arms around such a beautiful young lady felt very awkward. Not that he would entertain any thoughts of intimacy with Astrid. She was a minor, for God's sake. And she was involved with the Chief's son. There was no way he wanted to get caught up in that sort of misunderstanding. But it did feel good to hold a girl in his arms, and it served as yet another demonstration of how empty and lonely his life, that had seems so adequate for so long, actually had been.

"Ready?" Astrid called over her shoulder.

"Yep," Oscar answered. He felt the dragon gather herself before launching into the air, making his stomach feel like it was being sucked into his feet. "Good God Almighty," he yelped.

Astrid laughed.

The flight made the trek to the great hall very quick. If they had walked, it would have taken about twenty minutes rather than two. Stormfly touched down gracefully on the landing at the top of the stairs leading down into the village. The humans dismounted, and Astrid rested her hand on her dragon's neck. "Wait here, girl. I'll be back shortly." Together, she and Oscar entered the great hall.

It was rather quiet inside. Stoick was indeed eating breakfast at the head table while reading over progress reports with a sour expression on his face.

"Uhm, Astrid," Oscar said quietly. "He's frowning. Maybe I shouldn't bother him right now."

Astrid actually giggled at this. "He's always frowning. And now is a better time than any. If you wait, you'll have to track him down in the village somewhere. Lunch and dinner time, he likes to go home, and you don't want to bother him there. Go grab you a plate and I'll introduce you"

Oscar did as Astrid instructed. Breakfast actually looked really good. Barley mash with maple syrup and bacon with fresh baked bread with berries cooked in it and a tankard of chilled Yak milk. He had never had yak milk before. It had an unusual taste, but it wasn't bad. He could easily get used to it. After getting his meal, he rejoined Astrid who escorted him to the head table.

"Good morning, Chief," Astrid said cheerily.

Stoick looked up, his frown melting into something akin to a friendly smile. "Ah, Astrid. Good morning."

"Allow me to present Oscar Rodgers. He's feeling a lot better today, and wanted to speak with you."

Stoick glanced between the pile of papers on the table and Oscar, standing in front of him, sighed with what seemed like relief, and shoved the papers aside. "Thank you, Astrid," he said.

Astrid took her leave, and Oscar was standing there nervous and awkward.

Stoick considered using his usual intimidating personality, but Gothi had warned him that he needed to handle the stranger, Oscar, delicately, as she did not understand what had caused his mental lapse in the first place. So he decided to take a page out of his son's book and attempt to be light-hearted.

"I'm not gonna bite you, lad," he said, amused at Oscar's unease. "Have a seat," he said, gesturing with both hands towards the bench on the other side of the table.

"Thank you, sir," said Oscar

"What can I do for you... Rodgerson, was it?"

Oscar paled for a moment, remembering that mechanical voice from Odin's Mirror that had mistakenly identified him as someone named Alarick Rodgerson, and something called an authorized liaison, Berk Alpha Alpha Seven. There had to be something to that, now that he was in the past, and it scared him. "Rodgers," he corrected politely. "Oscar Rodgers."

"Ah, yes," Stoick said with a nod. "That was it. What can I do for you, Oscar Rodgers."

Oscar swallowed. Here it went. "First off, I want to thank you and your village for taking me in, and caring for me while I recovered from my... Issue."

Stoick shook his head. "Think nothing of it, lad. I've been told that your memory is back, and I am glad to hear it. Perhaps you can tell me where you are from and how you got here."

It was clearly not a question. The Chief was making it clear he wanted an answer. "I can't tell you," he said and gulped as Stoick narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "What I mean by that is that I am not sure where I am in relation to where I came from, and I cannot explain how I got here," Every word of that was the truth. He knew that he was somewhere in the Archipelego, and while he saw a map of where Berk was located, he couldn't be sure where it was, in relation to the United States. And he certainly had no way to explain how a time portal worked. He didn't understand it himself.

Stoick eased back and nodded for Oscar to continue.

"The land I come from is called 'America,'" he said carefully, confident that nobody in this region, in this time period had ever heard of it. "It lies somewhere across the ocean to the West, assuming were anywhere near Iceland."

"Iceland is not too far from here," Stoick replied. "But I've never heard of this... America. And you have no idea how to get there from here?"

Oscar shook his head. "No, sir. I have no idea how I am going to get home. And that brings me to what I wanted to speak to you about,"

Stoick wasn't entirely happy. He was no closer to understanding this Oscar Rodgers' situation and how it might impact Berk. He had suspected that there were indeed lands to the West, but the furthest he had been was to Dragon Island, and there were no known navigational charts that indicated any sort of safe passage further. However this man from America got here, Stoick knew no way of getting him back to where he said he came from. At least not yet. "Go on," he prompted.

"Since there's probably no way I can get home, I would like to stay here." Stoick frowned, and so Oscar pressed on. "I want to find work and contribute to the village. I want to repay Berk for its kindness, and I want to do it by being useful."

Stoick sighed. Berk had begun to be a center of trade among the tribes who were beginning to understand what the end of the dragon war meant, and some people had started coming to Berk to understand more. As a result, the village was growing. And while Oscar did not look to be very strong, he had long since learned never to turn away help when it is offered. "What you ask is fair, and I am going to trust that your promise not to harm my village, its people, or the dragons that reside here will be honored." Oscar bowed his head in agreement. "Very well. I have a meeting with the heads of Berk's tradesmen tomorrow morning. I will mention your offer to help and see if any of them have a place for you. In the meantime, I will make one of our guest houses available to you, until we can build you your own place. After all, we cannot have you taking up valuable bed space in Gothi's house, now can we?"

Oscar's eyes widened. He was going to have his own place? And a guest house he could move into immediately?

"Is something wrong, lad?" Stoick said in response to Oscar's expression.

"No, sir," Oscar replied. "Where I come from, it's not as easy to get one's own place."

Stoick accepted the explanation. He stood up from the table, draining his tankard. "I need to get going. A Chief's work is never done." He gathered up the stack of reports. "Feel free to stay and finish your breakfast."

With that, Stoick the Vast strode towards the exit, leaving Oscar alone.