Chapter 27: Dragon Racing

AN: Longest chapter to date coming in hot! Please review and let me know if it's too long. Just wanted to say that I had an absolute BLAST writing this one and it would mean a lot if you shared your thoughts, positive or negative. Dragon racing has always been an awesome event I wanted to put my own take on, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it!

"Goodness, son. Who'ar you tryin' to impress?" Stoick asked Hiccup as the boy emerged from his room in a new red riding harness and face paint.

It was the morning of the first dragon race, and Hiccup was making extra sure he was prepared for the strenuous day of sport before going out. Toothless slinked down the stairs behind him, the dragon's wings also adorned with red paint. The Night Fury wore the Berkian seal on his left and the Strike Class dragon symbol on his right.

Hiccup looked up at his dad and sighed, slightly embarrassed. "Come on, dad. I thought we talked about this already?"

"Ah, yes of course. Astrid is just a friend. Everyone believes that after the recovery, too." The large man winked, enjoying his son's red face at his reference to the kiss.

Hiccup grumbled and said nothing more, keeping his thoughts to himself. Unfortunately, his father had correctly guessed his intentions with the new look. The races today were the perfect opportunity to put the focus back on himself for everyone watching, especially if he was able to win. He had to prove that the house always wins, and as the leader of the dragon riders as well as the future chief, that was Hiccup.

"I'm leaving now." Hiccup said, not amused with his father whatsoever. "I guess I'll have some time for a few practice laps. I'll see you down there later."

"I'll be rootin' fer ya." The chief smiled as his son exited their house, a sense of pride filling him as he appreciated that Hiccup had finally found something that he was especially good at.

It was a half hour before the race started when Hiccup landed Toothless back in the arena. Dismounting, he looked around and took some time to admire the new changes to the once humble structure. His modified ballista stood proudly in the center of the ring, ready to launch the game's objectives for the riders to fight over on their way around the circuit. The point baskets had been hastily constructed just outside the arena's walls on the side of the ocean, signifying the end of the circuit itself.

In order to complete the circuit, the riders would have to sprint from the ballista to the forest, spending about half the loop dodging trees over the thick canopy. They would then fly over the town square before turning back in for the small final stretch over the sea, and whoever had the bag of flour at that time would then deposit it in one of the 6 baskets to score- it was determined that the number of baskets would be based on the number of dragons, with Ruff and Tuff sharing one score.

One by one, the other participants began to gather with Hiccup near the starting area. First came Fishlegs and Meatlug, followed by Snotlout and Hookfang, followed by the twins and their Zippleback, and finally Astrid and Stormfly. 20 minutes to race start and still no Arkyn.

The Hofferson brought her dragon down next to Hiccup and dismounted, noting his artistry. "Hey there! Nice getup! I always knew red was your color."

"Why thank you! You don't look so bad yourself." Hiccup smiled proudly, returning the compliment to Astrid's own paintwork.

"Uh- I was talking to Toothless." Astrid smirked, and the dragon warbled in appreciation.

Hiccup laughed it off and quickly greeted everyone else, turning back to Astrid after they were accounted for. "Hey, do you know where Arkyn is?"

"Oh, he'll be here." Astrid said slyly, knowing exactly what would be coming when he did.

It was 15 minutes to race start when he finally showed up, the grand stands now filled with just about everyone in the village expectantly awaiting the new spectacle. Hiccup heard the crowd roar and turned his head to get a good look at what they were pointing at, spotting Stinger glide in effortlessly with Arkyn on his back.

Hiccup immediately knew he'd been outclassed. Neither Arkyn nor the Triplestryke wore any paint, because they didn't need it. Instead, Arkyn dismounted Stinger wearing a complete flight suit- helmet and all. The other riders stood and stared as he strolled over- all except for Astrid, who giggled behind them as they now replicated her reaction from earlier.

"Afternoon, everyone." Arkyn said nonchalantly, as if he wore dragon armor out every day of the week.

"What is that?!" Snotlout demanded, jealousy plastered on his face.

"A little taste of home." Arkyn replied, quickly clarifying the origins of the outfit to his friends.

With Stinger in the background, the boy himself actually looked quite similar to his dragon, although his suit was black while Stinger's scales incorporated shades of yellow and brown.

"Who's ready to lose?" Arkyn laughed, crossing his arms. In reality he wasn't as confident in his abilities as he let off since he was still the one with the least experience, but a little fun never hurt.

"Looks aren't everything, you know." Hiccup sighed, disappointed in himself for not thinking of something similar. He looked over at Astrid only to notice her obvious enjoyment in the new gear, and he decided to slowly slip away to climb back on Toothless by himself. He could still win the race without his own helmet, and that's all that mattered.

Everyone saddled up as the Chief entered the ring for his pre-race speech. Clearing his throat, Stoick began with his trademark booming voice. "Welcome to Berk's first official dragon race! Today, our resident dragon riders will compete against each other to be the first to win 2 races. If at the end of 3 preliminary races, 3 different riders have each won 1 race, we will move into a showdown where only those 3 riders will fight it out for their second win, making them the champion of the day."

He took a small pause and gestured to the 7 riders behind him. "Today in the ring we have Fishlegs riding his Gronckle Meatlug, Snotlout riding his Monstrous Nightmare Hookfang, Berk's favorite twins Ruff and Tuff riding their Zippleback heads Barf and Belch, Astrid riding her Deadly Nadder Stormfly, my son, Hiccup, riding his feared Night Fury Toothless, and finally, our newest rider, Arkyn Stryerson riding his Triplestryke Stinger." The crowd cheered as he listed each name, and Arkyn caught sight of several Vikings taking bets in the front row. Things were beginning to get interesting. He wondered who their money was on.

"Let these races signify the beginning of the next chapter on Berk. They will commence when Gobber blows the game horn. May the best rider win!" The chief exited the arena and made his way back to the throne that overlooked the space, signaling to his friend that everything was ready.

Arkyn glanced down the line of dragons to his left, preparing Stinger's stance for the best possible take off trajectory. "Good luck, Haddock." He told Hiccup, the rider closest to him.

"Be careful not to get lost out there." The boy replied, a hint of bitterness in his tone. Arkyn was confused at the less than friendly retort but chalked it up to the likely combination of nervousness and determination felt by pretty much everyone there.

After several more tense moments of waiting, Gobber blew the horn, and they were off! All 6 dragons leaped into the air and bolted over the stands towards the forest. No bag had been launched yet as the first time around was meant to act as a formation lap in order to give the riders a flying start at the first point. As Arkyn made his way through the course he found himself falling further and further behind the lead, which Astrid presently held. When they rounded the final corner and faced the ballista he was trailing in the 4th position, only Meatlug and the Zippleback behind him.

Suddenly, the ballista fired, and the first bag was launched high into the air. Given her altitude and speed, Astrid had no trouble at all swiping it from its arc. Unfortunately for her, this required the girl to bleed some speed in order to retrieve it accurately, and most of the riders quickly caught up to her place in line. She was forced to dodge and weave against both Hiccup and Snotlout in order to maintain possession, but her downfall came when she had to make the turn from the forest to over the town. The lateral forces of the tight maneuver forced the bag out from under her left arm, and it was airborne and in play once again.

In a black flash, Hiccup guided Toothless to pick the bag up in his mouth, and with the dragon's teeth retracted it was impossible for the object to tear or make the rider lose points. None of the other dragons had this capability making it seem like an unfair advantage, however nothing could be done about it at the moment. With the bag safely enclosed in the jaws of the Night Fury it was easy for Hiccup to complete the course and deposit it for the first point of the race. He was on the board.

Arkyn pushed Stinger harder to try and get ahead, but there was no rest for the weary as another bag was immediately launched for the next lap. Hiccup tried to catch this one as well but he was too low from his pass over the scoring baskets to make it up in time, and the bag instead landed in Hookfang's talons as Snotlout laughed in his triumph.

Knowing Hookfang wasn't as fast as Toothless, Arkyn took the inside lines of the course hoping everyone else would slow down in an attempt to steal the bag. He wasn't worried about this bag though, he was worried about the next one. Passing Astrid and Hiccup, who were both focused on trying to get the bag away from the Jörgensen, Arkyn soon smiled as he realized he'd set himself up perfectly to snag the 3rd point, and that he did.

Snotlout earned a point on the board as Arkyn soared over the conflict, successfully getting Stinger to wrap the next bag in his 3 tails. He immediately pointed his dragon downward to use as much gravity as possible to get his speed up, but it wasn't enough to pull further away from Hiccup, who gained behind him. Once Toothless was a little too close for comfort, Arkyn had Stinger move the bag from his tails to his talons, using the former to block any advancements the approaching Night Fury tried to make. He turned over the ocean and dropped down to bring the point home, making his score tied with both Hiccup and his cousin.

This unfortunately allowed the Night Fury to initially secure the next bag, but there was still plenty of race left to go. Anything could happen.

The game horn blew at the end of the 12th lap, which meant the next one would see the launching of the 5 point bag as well as the end of the race.

The current scores stood at:

Fishlegs: 1

Ruff & Tuff: 2

Snotlout: 2

Arkyn: 2

Astrid: 4

Hiccup: 1

This was an interesting situation to say the least, as it meant that which ever rider secured the final bag would automatically win, unless it ended up being broken. Arkyn had unfortunately fallen back to 5th position on the previous lap and simply resigned that there was no way he was winning this one. Instead, he began to ride Stinger a little easier, giving his dragon a break before the next race.

Astrid had proven herself a very worthy competitor and had been able to steal bags from Hiccup, the twins, and even Arkyn himself. The 4th point she'd secured on her own, picking it up from the Ballista on lap 7. None of that would matter if she didn't secure the final point, however, and with her current lead she pushed Stormfly harder than ever to try and get it.

Upon hearing the game horn, Hiccup hit the deck and surged forward from position 2. It was time to put the full potential of his Night Fury's abilities into play. Although he'd only been able to get 1 point so far, Hiccup had planned for this the whole race. If no one else was able to get a score of 5 or higher, there was nothing stopping him from conserving his dragon's energy in the long run to use it at the very end and steal the game, and this is exactly what he did.

Toothless flapped his wings faster than he ever had before and Astrid could do nothing but watch as Hiccup sailed past her, pulling away just in time for the ballista to fire. It became a runaway game as he retrieved the special red bag and squeezed every last inch of speed out of his dragon, making it impossible for the other riders to have any chance of catching up. Stoick's face beamed with pride as his son made it around the final corner of the course and delivered the game winning bag into his basket before he circled the arena several times and waved at the spectators below, eventually bringing Toothless down for a landing.

"THAT'S MY BOY!" He yelled as Gobber blew the game horn to signify the end of the race. The other riders soon trailed in after him, each one offering words of tentative congratulations.

The final standings had Hiccup with 6 points and Astrid with only 4, and although the girl looked the most disappointed out of the group she still gave Hiccup a warm smile and a handshake upon reaching the ground again. "Nice flying, Hiccup!" She sighed. "I almost had you."

"Maybe next race, Astrid. There's more to come." Hiccup said, satisfied that his plan was working so far. He hated to beat Astrid when he knew she was so competitive, but a race was a race. If you're not first, you're last.

Arkyn disconnected his riding harness and placed his boots on the dirt once more. He glanced up at the crowd as he removed his helmet, watching intently as money changed hands from Viking to Viking. The earlier bets were being collected. Although Hiccup had been fast, Arkyn wondered to himself if Toothless could maintain that sort of speed for another race, or possibly more. Locking eyes with his opponent, Arkyn delivered a nod of respect to the Haddock from afar, who nodded back.

That race had only been 13 laps, but they could be a maximum of 25. Arkyn began to formulate a new strategy, banking on the assumption that the next race would be longer and would therefore require more endurance and planning. The longer the races got, the less significant the final 5 points became since there was more time to build up a lead on the 1 point bags. His thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder and he turned to his right to find that Astrid had walked over to him.

"Hey, you're staring again."

"Huh? Oh, hi there." He smiled, glad she'd found the time.

"Where'd that mind of yours go just now?"

"Oh, you know, I'm just collecting myself. That was quite the rush. You seem to be much better at this than me, though."

"Well you didn't have the worst score on the board. I'd say you were able to hold your own, and besides, I didn't win either."

"If Night Furies weren't so full of themselves maybe you would have." He chuckled, referring as much to the dragon's rider as he was to the creature itself.

"Luckily there's plenty more chances for that. With any enthusiasm from the crowd these could become a pretty regular thing."

"Oh goody. More chances for me to lose."

"At least you look great when you fly in from position 5." Astrid winked, flicking the helmet Arkyn now had tucked under his arm.

Hiccup looked on, frowning. He was well out of earshot to hear what the pair of teens was saying but he could definitely tell they both seemed happy. Hiccup was able to vaguely understand what Astrid found so interesting about the new Viking. Everything about him was new and different, but he wasn't the one who'd known her for almost 16 years. Hiccup had waited so long for his chance to get noticed that when it finally came and he'd defeated the Red Death, he thought getting together with Astrid would've come easy- especially because of how she'd responded both after their romantic flight as well as when he'd woken up.

Things were proving slightly more complicated than that, however. The girl felt a little further away from him each day, and Hiccup was starting to suspect it had something to do with the new arrival. A tiny part of his consciousness was regretting welcoming Arkyn into their group so fully, but he pushed it aside remembering all the friendly moments they'd had so far. Hiccup hadn't lost Astrid yet, at least as far as he knew, and so he still considered winning the next race and subsequently becoming champion of the day to be the next big thing that would earn her respect, and hopefully, her affection.

The game horn blew once again and everyone quickly lined up for the second race. A strange new tension fell over the group as they settled in and waited for the signal to start. Every single rider felt a rising pressure to succeed, and it quickly became clear that this race would be nothing like the last. Everybody wanted victory more, but the only question now was: who was going to work the hardest to get it?

Gobber blew the shrill horn a second time and just like that, the racers were off quick as lightning. It didn't matter that there weren't any points on the formation lap, what mattered was getting ahead for the first launch.

This time Arkyn found himself rounding the last corner in position two behind Snotlout, but there was still a little bit of distance between the cluster and the ballista. It was then an idea flashed across his mind, and when Snotlout started his climb to meet the bag's trajectory, Arkyn whistled to Stinger who immediately responded by roaring as loudly as he possibly could. The sharp noise startled Hookfang who flinched and missed the projectile with his talons, allowing Stinger to pick it up instead. The crowd surged with excitement at the new move and Arkyn whooped through his helmet as he sped away with his prize, excited that he would be the first one to score this time.

It was lap 8. The current scores were:

Fishlegs: 1

Ruff & Tuff: 1

Snotlout: 0

Arkyn: 2

Astrid: 2

Hiccup: 1

Hiccup currently held possession of the 8th bag, trying desperately to keep it away from both Fishlegs and the twins, who were hot on the tail of Toothless and closing in rapidly on either side. Fishlegs and Meatlug pulled up above where Hiccup held the bag under his arm, and the large boy coaxed his equally large dragon into dangling its talons just above the objective. Upon dropping lower to retrieve the bag, however, one of Meatlug's talons slipped and tore the bag open. Flour began flying out of the opening and a disgruntled Hiccup was forced to drop the bag, which quickly collided with a tree and ended its ride with a glorious powdery explosion.

The game horn blew twice to signal the loss of a point, and since Fishlegs had been the one to commit the offense, his score was unfortunately reduced to zero once more.

Swearing under his breath at the less than ideal situation, Hiccup had no choice but to keep pushing on with Toothless, although he still mourned the missed opportunity to raise his count to two.

Lap 17. The race had officially surpassed the length of the previous event, and the riders and their dragons alike were starting to feel the need for endurance kicking in. This time the scoreboard stood at:

Fishlegs: 1

Ruff & Tuff: 2

Snotlout: 1

Arkyn: 6

Astrid: 3

Hiccup: 2

The Haddock was starting to sweat as he realized the number of remaining laps could be getting dangerously low, and Arkyn had almost managed to pull a 5 point lead on him. If that were to happen, there would be no way the final bag could save him from being in jeopardy of a third race, something he knew Toothless couldn't hold his speed for.

Hiccup sprinted down the stretch of the circuit just before the ballista neck and neck with Arkyn and Stinger, but a final burst of speed solidified his capture of the bag. He'd missed it with Toothless' jaws, however, and instead kept it wedged in his lap as he tried to defend the point from his opponent.

In response to losing the bag, Arkyn immediately whipped Stinger into an inversion and rolled above Toothless to try and knock it free from Hiccup's grasp, but it was no use. There simply wasn't enough space for him to fly upside down so close to the other dragon without their wings colliding. He needed this point though, as it was the only thing standing between himself and a repeat ending from the last race.

Determined to secure the object before the circuit took the riders over the forest, Arkyn hastily rolled back beneath Toothless and attempted to get ahead of the Night Fury, planning to eventually pull up in the way of the opposing dragon causing it to swerve, ideally sending the bag through the air once again.

Hiccup immediately saw what Arkyn was trying to do, and as soon as Stinger pulled up underneath him, he began to drop altitude, purposefully forcing the rider below to do the same. Nothing was making him lose this bag now. Nothing. He had to win.

Arkyn realized he was in danger just a little too late. Stinger was flying as close to the deck as he possibly could without striking the ground, and Hiccup still pinned him to this height, refusing to let up. Arkyn pressed himself to Stinger's saddle as best he could, barely having enough room to fit on his companion's back. Normally a bit of stunt flying would have been fun, but the problem with this was that the line of trees at the edge of the forest was fast approaching, and although Hiccup would be able to clear them, Arkyn would not.

This problem was exacerbated by the extremely tight space between the two dragons. If Arkyn tried to yield the position and use Stinger's wings to catch air and slow down, they would without a doubt come into contact with Toothless', causing both riders and their dragons to spin out. Neither creature could even flap their wings for danger of a collision, and it quickly became apparent to Arkyn that his fate rested completely in the hands of Hiccup as they were forced to glide an increasing distance. Changing speed or altitude, either positively or negatively, was no longer an option.

"Hiccup!" Arkyn hollered. "You have to pull up!" He could see the other boy's prosthetic leg dangling in its stirrup to his left, but nothing more. No response came.

"HICCUP!" The boy raised the face guard on his helmet, yelling louder. "You're not leaving enough room! We're doomed to crash down here if you don't move your ass!"

The Haddock either didn't hear him or didn't care.

An increasingly stressed Stinger squawked angrily at the Night Fury above him, but Toothless showed more loyalty to his rider than to the Triplestryke and remained unwavering.

They were getting dangerously close to the point of no recovery. "You son of a half troll, Hiccup! GODS DAMN IT! PULL UP YOU MUTTONHEAD!" By this time the trailing riders had noticed what was going on and joined in the yelling, trying frantically to get Hiccup's attention. Although he never turned around to acknowledge anyone, Hiccup finally started to rise in altitude, but only allowed enough clearance for Toothless to begin flapping his wings again. BIG mistake.

The large wingspan of the Night Fury created an immense downforce of wind which Stinger was not prepared for. The Triplestryke hit the patch of dirty air with no forewarning and jolted sideways, throwing Arkyn from his saddle with such a sudden power that his riding tether snapped. Hiccup and Toothless took the circuit's right hand turn while Stinger could do nothing but break left to avoid a potentially fatal crash with the trees, but no amount of speed could get him around in time to save his airborne rider.

Arkyn barely had a chance to lower his face guard and brace for impact before he hit the ground, tumbling down a shallow slope that led into the forest. Despite trying his best to dig into the dirt and slow down, the boy still slid a significant distance, scraping himself up against sticks and pebbles as he went. He eventually came to rest face up, just mere paces away from the base of a large pine tree. Arkyn vaguely registered the game horn blowing 3 times to signal an emergency as he lay there in full consciousness, seething with anger. Everything seemed sore, but since Stinger was already so low to the ground to begin with, the height of the fall hadn't quite been enough to break anything.

Dragons landed in the nearby field and frantic feet rushed down the slope to come to the boy's aid. "Arkyn!" Astrid screamed. "Are you ok?!" She immediately realized she was getting tired of asking him this question and cursed Hiccup's name under her breath now that she had to.

Shaking, Arkyn managed to stand himself up before anyone got to him, and he tore off his helmet as he began to trudge up the hill to meet Astrid and his other friends. The right side of his head trickled blood and his whole suit was covered in mud, causing the girl to exhibit some alarm.

"I'm fine." He spat as he reached her, everyone now returning to the top of the slope where Hiccup had finally landed his own dragon.

"But Ark-" Astrid began.

"I said I'm fine!" He assured her, a little too forcefully. She fell silent wearing a hurt expression, but Arkyn was too angry to notice. "Hiccup!" A gravelly voice shouted in disgust as the Night Fury's rider rushed towards him.

"Great Odin's ghost…Arkyn! I'm so sorry!"

"Save it, Haddock! You knew DAMN well what you were doing up there. I know you heard us!"

"Arkyn! I swear on it…I didn't realize."

"Don't give me any of that bullshit! What you did realize is that you were about to lose and so you went ahead and figured out a way to stop that from happening, didn't you?!"

The other riders stood to the side in shock, watching the shouting match unfold. They hadn't seen Arkyn this riled up since his argument with Hiccup about what to do with the Screaming Death. Most felt it justified, though. It was strange for Hiccup to be so blatantly reckless.

Hiccup couldn't believe he had been the person to injure someone. It was his rule that this was to be off limits. "I- you know I would never intentionally do something to hurt another dragon."

When Arkyn heard this line, he threw his helmet to the side and shoved Hiccup with both hands, knocking him to the ground, a look of blind hatred burning brightly in his eyes. Tuff and Snotlout had to hold him back from advancing any further as Fishlegs stepped in between the two boys. Arkyn resisted, shouting as he tried to break free from their grasp. "You almost got my dragon killed, you fucking moron. You're lucky I'm so willing to take a hit for that Triplestryke, because if Stinger had landed with even a scratch you would have a lot more to be worried about right now!"

It was then Stoick and Gobber came rushing over from the direction of the arena, and several crowd members had also begun trickling out of the structure to see what was going on, only being able to view the fall from a distance.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The chief roared, watching Hiccup get up and dust himself off. Arkyn stayed silent, waiting to see what the other boy would say first.

"There was a…racing incident." Hiccup breathed, eyeing Arkyn tentatively. He nodded in response, the last thing he wanted right now being confrontation with Stoick The Vast.

"An' is everyone alright?" The large man pressed, his expression a look of stone as he raised an eyebrow and gave a once over to the group of teens.

"Just peachy…" Arkyn muttered only loud enough for Snotlout and Tuffnut to hear, and soon enough the Chief spoke again when nobody had thrown out any objections.

"I think it goes without saying that the rest of the races have been canceled. I suggest ye all go home and rest up while I handle the situation here. I've got a lot of damage control to do if ya haven't noticed."

"Dad, I can explain." Hiccup began, but his father held up a hand.

"Not now, Hiccup. I'll speak with you at home."

The rest of the riders walked back to their respective dragons, and Arkyn quickly retrieved his helmet before finding Stinger, who had luckily landed safely next to Stormfly. Astrid walked beside him, not saying much, knowing he probably didn't want her to.

Hiccup watched the pair go and his heart dropped as he realized his plan had likely royally backfired. "Astrid, wait!" He had to try and save this somehow. She couldn't leave thinking he was so careless…

Both Astrid and Arkyn turned to face him, but all the girl did was give Hiccup a look of disappointment before whistling to her Deadly Nadder, nonverbally announcing that she didn't want to hear it.

Arkyn leaned into Astrid's ear just before they mounted and whispered to her covertly. "My house." He said simply, and the girl gave a quick nod of understanding. It wasn't long before they were in the air once again, flying over the group of spectators who had left their seats to catch the action.

Stoick let out a heavy breath as he shut the door to his home, having just arrived after speaking with the confused Vikings as well as the parents of most of the riders. He collapsed at his large dinner table, grabbing a loaf of bread from the counter and tearing into it as his thoughts strayed. The man somehow felt just as exhausted as the athletes themselves had looked.

Toothless shuffled upstairs at the noise and Hiccup came trundling down the stairs again soon after, hoping to get his father's chastising over with before it sat for too long. "Hey dad…"

"Son." Stoick nodded as Hiccup took a chair across from him. "Do you know what I've just been through?"

"Well…I have some ideas…"

"Now isn't a time to be sarcastic, Hiccup. Someone got hurt today."

"I- I know…" Hiccup sighed.

"So why don't you tell me what happened? Tell me what was different from the things I saw with my own two eyes."

The boy rested his elbows on the table and stuffed his face into his hands. "Oh, dad…it's all so messed up."

"Start talkin'."

"You were right this morning, ok? I was trying to impress Astrid. I wanted to win the second race and be the champion but…Arkyn was beating me. He showed up in that crazy flight suit and all everyone wanted to talk about was how great it looked. I just wanted to slow him down when I was trying to earn that point, but I never thought it would cause a crash like that. I- I feel terrible…"

Stoick sighed heavily. "I understand your talents, Hiccup. When I was around your age all I wanted to do was prove myself to the lasses too. I, um, I know better than anyone that sometimes it's hard to be the chief's son, because it always feels like you have to prove something." He took a pause. "All this said, getting carried away can be damaging, as it was today. Not only to Arkyn, but also to Astrid."

Hiccup nodded, looking down. He knew exactly what his father meant, and it gave him a strange sinking feeling.

"Hiccup?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"I need you to answer something for me, truthfully."

The boy gulped. "What is it?"

"I learned back at the arena that Arkyn had been trying to get your attention before the crash." Stoick informed him, but the boy gave a blank look back.

"Tell me, son. Did you or did you not hear him?"

Arkyn followed Astrid into his house and slammed the door behind him, still visibly seething at the altercation he'd had just moments earlier. He quickly discarded his helmet on his desk and grabbed a damp rag, dabbing it against the blood that was now drying on his head.

"What the hell was that, Astrid? Is he crazy?" Arkyn burst, leaning against the counter with his free hand.

"It wasn't pretty, that's for sure. You should be grateful you were wearing that helmet."

The boy glanced at his recent creation, raising his brow and nodding in agreement. "Hiccup would have landed me straight back in that damned healer's hut if it weren't for that thing." He looked back at Astrid, who stared blankly out the window. "Hey." He asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's just…" Astrid began. "It's so unlike him."

Arkyn pursed his lips. "I just don't know what to think of it." The girl shook her head slowly at his words and Arkyn soon realized he owed her an apology. "I really didn't mean to be so harsh earlier…" he said quietly. "I got hurt and I got mad, but that doesn't mean you should've had to pay for it."

"Believe me, I've heard worse." Astrid cracked a weak smile. "Nothing I can't handle."

"You shouldn't have to handle it at all though. Not from me. I'll be better."

"Look, I promise you it's ok, but…sometimes I just wish you would let your guard down around me a little more, you know, now that we're seeing each other. I want to be there to help you through these things and I can't do that if you never let me in…" Astrid partially said this in reference to what had just happened at the races, but what she hoped Arkyn would pick up on is that she mostly said it because of what happened to his parents. He talked about them in passing, but he'd never openly mourned them in front of her, or anyone else for that matter, and the girl was starting to wonder if his temper was the result. She worried Arkyn had never given himself any time to properly grieve.

His face fell and he nodded solemnly. Arkyn knew where she was coming from, but her pleading eyes were what really broke him. "I…I understand." There was a new responsibility they now shared with each other, and Arkyn hadn't exactly been holding up his end of the deal. Problems weren't meant to be faced alone.

Astrid got up from her chair and gave him a quick hug, smiling, although this was cut short by a knock at the door and the girl quickly released Arkyn. "I wonder who that is?" Astrid breathed, not wanting to look out of place in her friend's home.

Arkyn quickly bent down and flipped his dagger out of its hidden spot on his boot, hastily giving it to Astrid handle end first. "Hold this for me please." He said calmly, heading for the front door.

"What- why?" Astrid asked, confused.

"Because if it's Hiccup on the other side of this door I don't want to be in a position to use it." Arkyn replied coldly, turning the handle.

Astrid sighed but would be kidding herself if she said the line wasn't at least a little bit amusing. It was made funnier by the fact that it was indeed Hiccup who'd done the knocking. He stood slumped on the doorstep, an apologetic look on his face. Astrid found irony in how similar the two boys now looked, with Hiccup's fading red face paint matching Arkyn's dried blood. Toothless lay lazily near the road, uninterested in his rider's visit.

"Hiccup." Arkyn addressed him in a monotone voice.

"Hi, Arkyn." Hiccup said quietly, almost as if he was scared of the boy staring back at him. "I came to say sor- hey what is Astrid doing here?" The girl's presence took him by surprise and he stood up a little straighter, wondering why she was in the house.

Astrid gave him a stone-faced expression and put a hand on her hip. "You came to say what exactly, Hiccup?"

Hiccup blinked, something still feeling off to him. "Why are you holding a dagger…?"

"Hiccup!" Astrid said sharply, trying to move the moment along.

"Right, erm…Arkyn: I came to say sorry."

"For…?" The Stryerson raised an eyebrow.

"For causing that crash during the dragon race. It was supposed to be a fun event…I guess I got a little carried away and ruined it."

"Mhmm."

"Look, if you're still mad, just tell me what I can do to make it up to you, ok? We're not going to get anywhere fighting."

Arkyn crossed his arms, intrigued. "Alright, fine." He realized the power he now held. Hiccup would probably do just about anything he asked if Arkyn pressed hard enough, and he smiled at the thought, but he wasn't a monster. In the end, unfortunately, his ego got the better of him, and the cocky voice in his head won the battle. "I want another race."

"Another dragon race?" Hiccup asked, tilting his head. That didn't seem so terrible.

"Sure, but not a dragon race like the ones we had earlier today. Just me and you. Just Stinger and Toothless. Different course. I don't want to catch any flour and I don't want to fly in any circles. Winner claims the title of true champion until the next real races are held."

Hiccup thought for a moment, but it was Astrid who spoke next. "What about 'Beat The Dome'?"

Arkyn turned to face her, unsure of what she meant.

"I'll explain later." She informed him. "It's perfect though."

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Yes it is…we haven't done it in ages though, but I accept. One 'Beat The Dome' race to patch things up." He held out a hand to seal the deal with Arkyn, who gripped firmly with his muddy glove and squeezed hard, making Hiccup wince slightly.

"I guess it's settled, then. Now kindly remove yourself from my doorstep before I change my mind and make you spend the night in a whispering death hole instead."

With this, the handshake was broken and Hiccup went briskly down the front steps of Arkyn's home back towards his dragon, hearing the door shut behind him. Despite the odd situation, Hiccup smiled to himself knowing the terms of his new deal.

It was the perfect chance for Astrid to finally see him as champion material. He'd never lost a Beat The Dome race.

AN: Oooo things are really starting to heat up now. Coming in to politely request a review for this chapter once again. I'm genuinely interested. Other than that, stay tuned! Hope you enjoyed.