Rylan sat on his hard bed, not thinking about much. Almost total apathy had set in becuase he had nothing to do but stare at stone walls all day. 

Just as he was considering doing a couple more pushups (he'd been exercising to keep himself busy) the door the prisons opened again. It was Alvin again, but this time he had food. 

Rylan's stomach moaned with hunger, and he got and walked to the cell door. Most times, the guards would pass food through a hole in the cell. But Alvin pushed open the door with a grunt of effort and came in. 

A large bowl of steaming sheep stew was held in his hand. Rylan's stomach growled loudly, and Alvin handed him the bowl in a friendly manner.

Rylan drank a third of the scalding stew in one gulp, the delicious broth filling him with energy and warmth. Sighing with pleasure, he set the rest on his bed to eat later and turned to his real problem. To his surprise and slight discomfort, Alvin was smiling at him. He was clearly trying to be friendly, but the attempt simply came off as painful.

Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, I'm sorry we got off to the wrong foot here Rylan. I never did get to tell you how much I admire you for being able to work with dragons."

"Thanks?" Rylan said uncertainly. 

Clearing his throat again, Alvin said, "In fact, I see no reason to keep you in here anymore. You'll be given a private house here, and you can be our lead dragon trainer! How does that sound?" 

Rylan narrowed his eyes quizzically, "What about Jolt? And Hiccup and Toothless? Will you release them too?" 

"Jolt will be released as well, provided you agree to a few conditions. But you know I can't just let Hiccup and his dragon go. We've been looking for them for too long."

"So you're just going to lock him up here? You don't care about the tribe he'd destined to inherit? The family that's looking for him?!" Rylan's voice rose angrily. 

When Alvin responded, it was clear he was trying to keep his anger in check. "Come on now boy. I'm offering you an elite Outcast position. And you'll turn it down for a tribe you only just met? Come on now. What do you owe them anyway?" 

Rylan's blue eyes darkened, and seemed to smolder with electricity. 

"What do I owe them?" he asked quietly. "Only the best home and friends I've ever known. Only my freedom. Only the best few weeks of my life!"

He stood up furiously, leaning closer to Alvin. "You never cared a squinch about me while I was here. You never cared that my mother was murdered or that my father beat me. But now, because I have somehting you can't get your paws on, you want me." 

Breathing deeply, he finished, "My answer is no. And that's all my answer will ever be! Now get away from me and my friends."

Alvin leapt to his feet. His facade of calm crumbled under his fury. He shoved Rylan to the floor. 

"Where do you get the gall to refuse my offer boy!?" he thundered, probably loud enough for the whole archipelligo to hear. 

"I offered you freedom and leisure. And you'd refuse it for a scrawny runt of a viking and his dragon loving tribe? Well, you're from no clan of mine!"

With that, he stormed from the cell, slamming the door behind him with a crash that shook the walls. Rylan lay on the floor for a moment, stunned. 

And then a quiet echo rang through the halls. Hiccup was cheering for him. 

"Man Rylan! You really riled him up quick. It usually takes me a few minutes at least to get him going like that!" 

Rylan's face split into a grin, knowing that he had made the right choice in turning down Alvin's offer. All the comfort and status in the world wouldn't be worth as much as one true friend.