Chapter 3:

AN: Sorry for the short chapters! I'm new to this and still improving so I'll try and write longer ones in the future. I hope this premise is intriguing enough to read. I intend to add some very interesting / suspenseful plots down the road so bare with me for now. Any feedback is appreciated! Also, this is not intended to fit it with the canon in any way. You may recognize some events that may have happened in the TV show but they'll end up being different. This is definitely meant to be its own story line. Alright, onto chapter 3!

When Arkyn finally came to, he was slightly confused as to his new surroundings. He sat up on compacted dirt and noticed a circular wall all around him. Curiously, there didn't seem to be a roof. His head still hurt, but when he reached up to touch it he felt it had been bandaged by someone, and instead of feeling his bloodied hair his gloves were met with the texture of fabric. He then looked up to see 6 kids about his age all standing in a group looking at him with a mixture of confusion and worry. He guessed they were the ones who had bandaged him…

There was a rather skinny boy wearing a green tunic, brown vest…and a…metal leg? Next to him stood a large blonde boy with a soft expression who was actively biting his nails, and on the skinny boy's other side was a girl in a blue shirt and spiked skirt. Her arms were folded and her face was stale and unreadable, as if she was mad about something. Arkyn's eyes lingered on her face just a moment longer and he immediately noticed that she was quite attractive, even in her expressionless state. Behind the 3 of them were what Arkyn guessed to be a set of twins and a dark haired Viking with a horned helmet and big fists. A diverse group to put it lightly…

The skinny boy introduced himself first as Hiccup, and offered a stretched out hand to Arkyn in order to help him stand, which he gratefully accepted. Soon he had learned everyone's names and was given some time to let the shock wear off before any more conversation ensued. It was at this moment Arkyn remembered the trunks he brought with him. Quickly panicking, he swiveled his head all around looking for them before spotting them behind the spot he was laying in not long before. He was relieved to see they appeared unopened.

Suddenly, the Viking named Fishlegs spoke: "So…Arkyn? What exactly…happened to you?" This question seemed to startle Arkyn, who twitched slightly and looked down at his feet. In a defensive voice, he formed his response. "I…don't want to talk about it. At least not right now." Luckily, the rest of them seemed to understand this, and offered no further pushes for an answer.

"Can you at least tell us where you came from?" This time Astrid spoke up. "We don't recognize your outfit from any tribe we know of." Arkyn took his eyes off his feet and looked up at her, at first staying silent before wavering a little and simply saying: "Nowhere…"

"What do you mean nowhere?" Astrid questioned, annoyed. "You would have had to come from somewhere."

"It used to be somewhere, but not anymore. Now, it's nowhere." He replied. "It's hard to explain." Astrid's blank face turned into a brief glare before Hiccup noticed what was about to happen and stepped in quickly. "Ooookay Arkyn. That's alright. You clearly went through some things. I know this place is new and probably strange, but I promise you'll like it here. I'm prepared to offer to let you stay with me in my house until you get everything sorted out, but before I do, there's something else I need to ask…" He trailed off. Arkyn eyed him suspiciously. "And that is…?"

"What are your feelings towards dragons?"

To Hiccup's surprise, Arkyn chuckled slightly at this. "Why, you got one?" He could not have asked a more ironic question…

"Well…" Hiccup hesitated. "I guess you could say that. He's a Night Fury.."

Arkyn's jaw dropped. "A Night Fury…" he repeated. "I've never come across one before. Are they as threatening as they say?"

"Not at all! Toothless wouldn't hurt anyone. In fact, most dragons wouldn't if they didn't feel threatened themselves."

Arkyn faltered at his words. "Yeah…most." He emphasized. Hiccup didn't catch the edge to his tone but Astrid shifted her weight next to him when she heard it, wondering exactly what Arkyn meant saying something like that. She kept silent for now.

"Enough chit chat." Came Snotlout from the back. "What's in those trunks? They look pretty serious." Arkyn sighed and turned to them, picking up the brown one.

"I'll show you what's in this one. The other is no business of yours, however." He said as he lifted the lid. The teens gathered around and looked inside. Sitting before them was a shiny metal tube, bent in several places with a large bell shape at one end. Arkyn noticed they had obviously never seen one before. "It's a musical instrument called a trumpet." He explained. "It was my father's, but now it's mine. I've been playing it for almost 10 years now." It had some small dents in it but was a beautiful piece all the same. Arkyn shut the case and latched it quickly once again before placing it back on the ground next to its counterpart.

"So…" Arkyn started. "What is this place exactly?"

The female half of the twin duo fielded his question. "It's a super cool dragon training thingy. We call it the arena. Badass, right?"

"Uh…yeah. Did you say dragon training?"

Before Ruffnut could answer, Arkyn followed up with another query: "Do you…all have your own dragons?" The teens all nodded in unison. Arkyn looked back at them silently, as if figuring out how he should feel about this news. "That's Badass." Were the only words he needed. He'd had his fair share of dragon encounters, but never imagined owning one. He wondered if it was like having a giant house cat for a pet.

The short silence was broken by Hiccup. "So! How about a quick village tour? I'll tell you everything you need to know about life on Berk."

Arkyn was feeling rather tired yet he obliged anyway. The group left the arena and proceeded to show Arkyn many of the pretty sights and important locations on Berk. They stopped by the forge Hiccup worked in, met Gobber, saw the Great Hall, and walked by all of the Berkian teens' homes. This was Arkyn's first chance to meet the group's dragons, and every time he saw a new one the boy somehow showed even more awe than the last. They truly were incredible beasts. The tour ended at Hiccup's house up on the hill, and Arkyn was very surprised and intimidated to learn that Hiccup's father was in fact: the Chief of the Hooligan tribe. After some talking down by the rest of his new acquaintances, they parted ways and Arkyn stepped into his new temporary home for the first time.

Following a brief face to face introduction with 'Stoic the Vast', the three ate dinner together. It was the first real food Arkyn had tasted in more than a week. Although conversation was oddly limited, he respectfully cleared his plate and followed Hiccup to the room they would share. Exhausted at this point, Arkyn took his spot on the floor and removed his boots and gloves, rolling up the wool blankets provided for him. He felt so warm. To make things even warmer, Toothless had curled his tail around Hiccup's bed and rested it on top of where Arkyn lay as if to say 'welcome.' Arkyn took a lot of time to think about all that had happened recently, and looking around at where he had ended up and thinking about the people he had met there brought a slight smile to his face. An expression it had not seen for quite some time. Soon, sleep overcame him, and Arkyn enjoyed his first night in Berk. A place, he believed, would be his home for a long, long time.

Oooooh suspense! Don't worry, all will be revealed about this wildly strange situation. We're just getting started, so stay tuned!