Chapter Twelve
"URRRGGHHHH" Ukiah groaned, throwing up over an edge of a cliff. The drink he used to mix his paste was messing with his senses, and making him sick to his stomach. Making sure he didn't have any chunks hanging from his mouth, he slowly stood straight up.
After standing defiantly with the war paint on in front of Murky and the rest of the Vikings, Ukiah began to realize the stuff he used to mix with the charcoal wasn't a good idea. Turning to Stoick with a face that looked like he was going to be sick, Stoick dismissed him; with the excuse that he was done with him, and needed to consult the men with what they should do.
Feeling something bump into his back, Ukiah turned around to see Arrow with a concerned look on his face. His green eyes looked into his, as if asking what was wrong.
"I'm ok friend, just a little…grossed out." Ukiah replied with a wry smile, dry heaving as he smelt the war paint.
Relief flooded Arrow's face at this news, happy that whatever was wrong with Ukiah wasn't serious.
Ukiah smiled as he looked at Arrow. "You're always concerned for me, making sure that I'm ok. I guess with what happened in Thariin has you overly worried about me." He laughed, stroking one of the spikes on his head.
To be honest, what happened in Thariin was almost too much for Ukiah to think about. It was only a few weeks when he and Arrow were fighting for their lives, and about to lose too. If it hadn't been for Stoick, Hiccup, Astrid, plus all the Berk Vikings; they would have lost. He knew they would have. Thariin used to be a place that Ukiah ignored until he had to go trade. Even then, he went in and out as fast as he could. "Guess I couldn't really face the truth there." He muttered to himself, rubbing Arrow's head.
Then he switched his thoughts to something that was still puzzling him, the dream he had where he was on a different looking island. The abandoned village with the broken statue and skeleton in the room. Not to mention the peaceful feeling he had the entire time he was there; it was so confusing to him. Ukiah shook his head and looked over the cliff. Arrow walked beside him, trying to make eye contact with him. Ukiah didn't see him, having a lot go through his head. He was basically the reason why Berk would be going to war with Strogg, who wouldn't stop at anything until he had him, or killed him. Then there were probably a few people on the island not too happy with him being here, Murky being the main representative. "I guess we'll just have to see how this pans out…" Ukiah mumbled, petting Arrow's head.
"Hey Ukiah!" A voice called behind him. "What are you staring at? Come on and follow us!"
Quickly turning around, both Ukiah and Arrow looked up to see Astrid and Hiccup, with their gang hovering above them.
"Come on! We want to show you something!" Hiccup called out, as he and Toothless started to fly away.
"Eh, I don't think he looks so tough" The boy on the Nightmare called out, while flying by.
Smiling, Ukiah leapt onto Arrow's neck, getting ready to blast through the air. It wasn't as fast as he was expecting, but fast enough to launch into the air and catch up with the group. Curious as to where they were taking him, Ukiah took the liberty of riding in between Hiccup and Astrid. Toothless noticing Arrow gave him a toothless smile, to which Arrow roared with happiness.
"I wish I could understand what you were saying!" Ukiah laughed hugging Arrow's neck to show that he loved him; and mainly to keep himself more balanced.
"We really need to get you a saddle!" Astrid called behind him "You'll fly ten times better!"
"I'll have to follow up with Hiccup on that!" Ukiah replied yelling, with a wide smile.
"Don't worry, I'll make it soon enough!" Hiccup shouted back to both of them.
"I need to talk to you about some features with it." Ukiah said turning to face Hiccup "I have a few more ideas!"
"Alright, we'll talk about it after." Hiccup answered, returning his attention forward. Doing a quick barrel roll, Hiccup dove straight down; to which Arrow followed doing the same thing. Ukiah then saw exactly where they were going, to the arena. Ukiah knew that it was retired from dragon killing, but it was more than that which made him suddenly uneasy.
Hiccup and the gang flew straight in, minus the Nightmare who had to walk in because of its sheer size. Arrow stopped just in front of the gate, also hesitant about going in. Ukiah was staring at the group, now laughing and joking with each other as they dismounted their dragons. He was reluctant, not because of what it was used for, but the memories that he had because he was in one. Arrow also seemed a little uneasy.
"Come on!" Snotlout called, teasing Ukiah "Is it too much for you to go through a gate?"
"He's got a long ways to go if he's gonna be flying with us." Tuffnut expressed, looking a little disappointed with the teen that had war paint on. "Amiright sis?"
"Completely and totally, brother." Ruffnut agreed, nodding her head to add at the comment.
Astrid, a little more sensitive than the two, punched both Tuff and Snotlout in the arm to which they both yelped in pain, jumping a good five feet away.
Hiccup then walked over to Ukiah, asking "What's wrong? Is it what we used to do here?"
Shaking his head, Ukiah then explained "No, it's not the past of the arena that's haunting me; it's our past that's haunting us."
Hiccup looked down and saw that Arrow was also staring into the arena in a defensive stance. "If you want to, we can come out" Hiccup suggested, wanting to help Ukiah anyway that he could.
"No, we need to come in; we need to get over what happened to us." Ukiah responded, slowly dismounting off of Arrow. It was now or never, and they didn't have much time to waste being hesitant. Plus, it was pathetic that he couldn't walk through a gate. Sighing heavily, he began to walk through the first gate. As he passed under the second gate, he swore that he heard a crowd cheer. Looking around, even though he knew that the only people there were Hiccup and his gang, he still tried to find the source of his imaginary audience.
Arrow was equally disturbed, walking slowly and cautiously behind Ukiah, stopping every few feet to make sure it wasn't a trap. Arrow wasn't going to let anything happen to Ukiah again, not after he almost lost him in an arena like this.
"What's up with him?" Tuffnut whispered to Astrid, watching Ukiah slowly walk towards them.
"Long story, I'm sure he'll tell you when he gets here." Astrid replied, visiting the memory she had watching Ukiah and Arrow fight for their lives "In a nut shell, he was almost killed in an arena like this one. Both of them."
"Oohhh…" Fishlegs nodded "I see, I see…"
Finally arriving in front of the group, Ukiah stopped and looked around. If it was the Thariin Arena, he was standing in the same spot where he woke up and found out the horrible truth of him being in an arena.
"So…are you just going to stand there? Or are you going to tell us who you are?" Snotlout asked, still having a teasing tone in his voice "Or are you scared of the mighty one that you see before you?" That brought another fist from Astrid into his arm. "OW! What the? What was that for?"
"Being an idiot." Astrid replied simply and bluntly.
Chuckling, Ukiah brought himself out of his thought, relaxing a little bit. "I'm Ukiah. I'm sure that Astrid and Hiccup told you that they basically picked me up nearly dead."
"I'm still positive that you were dead for a minute there…" Hiccup threw in, looking at Ukiah with worry.
"Yeah, it was quite a story! Did you really befriend that new dragon in the arena?" Fishlegs asked excitedly, looking over at Arrow "That's amazing!"
Ukiah laughed and then explained to them how he and Arrow met before the arena. When he went out hunting Arrow for gold and glory, but ended up fighting to save him for friendship's sake; since he was the first friend he ever had. From befriending Arrow, to arriving on Berk, Ukiah told everything; even when they named Arrow a Sand Wraith, which made Fishlegs giddy with the idea of studying a new dragon species. He kept the dream a secret though, even from Hiccup and Astrid.
"But before everything in my life changed, I made small leather apparels and sold animal pelts. Which is how I met Hiccup and Astrid." Ukiah finished, smiling at the two.
"I still love the headband." Astrid added, pointing to the headband that Hiccup bought from Ukiah.
"Good! It's supposed to last for a while!" Ukiah commented, looking at it with satisfaction. He was glad she got it, as it was the best one he made. That, and everything else he made was stolen by the Thariin guards.
"I bet it will…" She replied, moving her hair out of her eyes and tucking it into the headband. The carved Swallows were more visible, making it look even more elegant.
"So…are we just going to shoot the breeze all day, or are we going to do what you wanted to do Hiccup?" Ruffnut asked Hiccup, a little annoyed and bored with following the conversation.
"Do what?" Ukiah asked, with slight concern on his face; mostly out of confusion.
Turning to Ukiah with a smile on his face, Hiccup then began to speak to him "Ukiah, as you can see, here in Berk we have a Dragon Training Academy, and we're the riders. Not big yet, considering we really just started; but we feel you'll help us move in the right direction. Ukiah, we want you to be part of us! We want you to be a dragon trainer! Both you and Arrow will be important to not only us, but to Berk as well!" He finished with a bigger smile, holding out his hand in a friendly way "What do you say, want to train dragons with us?"
Ukiah stood there speechless. He didn't even know what to say! Never had he been part of a group before; but here he was, his friends offering and inviting him to part of an elite group. The Dragon Trainers. "I…I…don't know what to say…" He stuttered, staring at them with wide eyes.
"Well, you could say 'yes'." Astrid retorted, teasing Ukiah. Smirking at him, she added "It's not that big of a deal, I mean, it's not like you already trained your own dragon, rode him without a saddle, and already went through a fight together."
Smiling at Astrid, Ukiah looked at Hiccup and replied with a resounding "Yes! I'd love to! I just hope I live up to the expectations."
Shaking his head, Hiccup quickly explained "It's just you helping us uncover the mysteries of dragons and explore new islands. This is the first time we get to be this close with them, so I know we all have a lot to learn."
Smiling, Ukiah looked at Arrow, saying "I know I learned a lot from you, huh friend?"
Arrow bumped into Ukiah, as if acting like he was in charge. Shaking his head, Ukiah just smiled at him, not arguing with him. Both Ukiah's and Arrow's arena experience was starting to change for the better.
"Hey, so what were you wanting to talk about with your saddle?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow out of curiosity.
"Oh, I was just wanting to add some…uh…perks to it. Nothing to crazy." Ukiah replied with smile.
Interested at the idea, Hiccup replied "Oook? What kind of 'perks'?"
"I was wondering if you could put a quiver on it. Like to be kind of be a surplus of bolts for me, just in case I run out during a hunt." He explained. Pausing for a moment, he quietly added "Or during a fight."
"Hmm..." Hiccup said stroking his chin, indicating that he was thinking of a way to accomplish it "Yeah, I don't see why I couldn't. Shouldn't take too long to make either."
"Um, Ukiah?" Astrid said quietly, almost hesitantly "What about your crossbow? You lost it remember?"
Ukiah frowned "Yeah, I remember alright, but I'm going to talk to Gobber about making me a new one. I need to have a word with him anyways."
"Why?" Hiccup asked, looking at him curiously.
"He mentioned at the meeting that he knows a little bit about me being a Crevite. At least, he hinted that he did." He answered, his face turning serious. "Honestly, anything is better than nothing at this point."
Astrid looked at him with sadness. He was cursed with not knowing anything about himself, and it seemed he couldn't get any straight answers either. Trying to be comforting, she whispered gently to him "I'm sure Gobber will be able to shed some light for you. He's usually pretty good about history and stuff like that."
"I hope so. I just want to know what my people were like. The only thing I know is that they were fighters." He replied, forcing a small smile at her "Maybe he might know where my island is. Maybe I could go visit it. Who knows, I might be able to figure out my last name."
Before Astrid could reply back, Snotlout cut into the conversation. Mainly to keep them from talking to each other. "You fight with a crossbow?" He asked quizzically "Doesn't sound very manly to me."
"Oh yeah?" Ukiah answered, looking at him with shock and confusion at the sudden outburst. Ignoring the attack, he continued to say "Well I'm good with it. I've hunted with one by myself for years, and it's never failed me."
Snotlout just smirked at him, looking at him smugly and folding his arms confidently.
"Oooohhh…We're definitely going to be having some problems." Ukiah thought to himself, his eyes narrowing at him.
Hiccup was busy drawing something in his book, then looking up, closed it. Smiling, he then said "I'll get busy with this tomorrow; it's starting to get late."
Ukiah looked up into the sky to see it starting to turn fire orange. "Of course, I was planning on talking to Gobber tomorrow anyways." Ukiah said, acknowledging the fact that it would take some time before he got his saddle.
Walking out of the arena, Hiccup then asked "Why did my dad want to have you come to the council?"
"Oh that? I guess to show them why we might be going to war." Ukiah answered, reflecting on the events at the council "I think he was doing as a way to rally the troops."
"And everyone was willing?" Astrid asked excitedly, walking alongside of him.
"Well, not at first. There was a guy named Murky who was really questioning me and my claim of being the last Crevite. Another guy named Mildew kind of supported him too." Ukiah explained with a hint of anger in his voice "It was weird. It was like Murky was attacking me."
"Really? Murky?" Hiccup asked confused "I understand Mildew, he could complain about the food in Valhalla! But Murky…that's surprising. He's always supported my dad and his decisions. In fact when he learned that my dad wanted the dragons to live among us, Murky was the first to really welcome them. He built a shelter for them at his farm."
"I don't know, but he wasn't really wanting to help me. If it was up to him, he'd send me straight to Strogg." Ukiah stated. He couldn't help but have a little bit of heated feelings towards Murky, given the fact that he was trying to convince others not to support Stoick.
"Ok, question. What do you mean the last Crevite?" Fishlegs asked, cutting into the conversation "You've been talking a lot about that recently."
"I don't know a whole lot about it; I was just a baby when my island was attacked." Ukiah replied solemnly. "I just know that the Crevites were warriors, but that's about it; that was what Stoick told me at least." Looking at Snotlout and the twins, he added "Strogg was the one that led the raid. That's why he wants me. I guess to either finish the job, or to stomp out loose ends." He left out the part that Stoick was part of the raid, as he didn't want to portray him as a bad man.
"So what's with the war paint?" Snotlout asked, pointing at Ukiah's face "That's just for show right?"
"No." Ukiah replied flatly "It's a tradition. It's the only thing I really know about the Crev. Apparently, it has some kind of significance." Looking at Hiccup, he put a small smile on as he added "I'm hoping Gobber can shed a little light on the subject."
"Huh, sounds boring." Ruffnut stated, unimpressed with the explanation.
"Trust me. It's more frustrating than boring." He quickly replied, his smile disappearing "I just want to have a few answers, but I can't find any."
"Don't worry Ukiah, if anything, we'll search the sea until we find Crev." Astrid responded, resting a hand on his shoulder, catching him off guard.
Looking at her with a sheepish smile, he simply answered "Thank you."
"Oh we will Astrid?" Hiccup asked in a teasing way, missing what actually took place.
"Of course we will. You love exploring!" Astrid retorted, glaring at him.
"Yeah, that's true." Hiccup replied with a smile. Shaking his head, he then said "Come on, let's go fly before night sets in."
A small roar then came from the arena. The group followed where it came from to find Arrow and Toothless wrestling each other in a playful way. The other dragons were roaring as well, as if cheering it on.
"I guess these two really took to liking each other." Ukiah said smiling at the sight. He was relieved that the two weren't fighting each other, as that was what he worried about the most.
Toothless had Arrow pinned, but a quick push and a slight roll allowed Arrow to get out from under him. Almost laughing at the sport, the two kept on running and chasing each other around the arena.
"Come on Arrow! Let's get going…home…" Ukiah trailed off, not finishing what he was going to say. Thinking for a moment, he turned to Hiccup and asked "Where am I staying?" It wasn't until this moment that Ukiah hadn't thought of where he and Arrow were going to live.
"Oh." Hiccup replied, seeing the same dilemma that Ukiah brought up "Well, I guess my place! Until we actually get you a place of your own or whatever you and my dad decide."
Obviously not having too many options, Ukiah smiled as he graciously accepted his invitation.
"Come on! Let's fly before it gets dark!" Astrid yelled, hopping on Stormfly.
The others were already on their dragons, taking off and flying out of the arena. "Oh shoot! I forgot that I have to take care of a few things!" Hiccup shouted, mounting on Toothless "I'll catch up with you guys later!"
Ukiah was already on Arrow, smiling at the turn of events. "Sounds good! I'll see you later tonight then!"
"Definitely later than sooner!" Hiccup laughed as he took off and flew out of the arena.
Confused at why Hiccup said that, Ukiah simply shrugged it off. "Eh, maybe he meant the morning." Bracing himself the best he could, Ukiah launched forward with Arrow into the air. Considering the grim looking future, Ukiah was happy with his situation. For once in his life, he found a real home.