47. Bloody business

Hiccup didn't know how long the battle has been done in the village, but the vikings were already 'cleaning up'. It seemed like no one from the tribe had been killed, some were hurt, but that was the extent of their injuries. Arrald's men on the other hand… most of them were just knocked out, but Hiccup knew some where dead. He couldn't find it in himself to care.

Storm marched straight to Stoick. Her blood cover appearance turned heads, but she didn't care. She was calm, surprisingly calm. Too calm, Hiccup knew.

"The forest needs clean up," She told him in an emotionless tone and without waiting for an answer continued forward, her sights set on the academy.

Hiccup came to a stop next to Stoick. His eyes following Storm's retreating back.

"What happened in the forest?" Stoick asked confused.

"A battle," Hiccup answered with a sigh, he saw Stoick's expectant look and continued, "The three ships were suspicious. I recognized the crest on their sails, I knew that there was something else going on. I left Storm to watch the back of the island for any of his men."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stoick softly demanded, he saw Hiccup's mood wasn't the best and after what he did to Arrald, Stoick didn't want to get on his bad side.

"I didn't know if he would do something like that," Hiccup sighed once again, he saw Astrid approach from the corner of his eye. "He did. I was right."

"Is Storm going to be okay?" Astrid asked, concern clear on her face. Hiccup looked towards Storm, he saw her looking over the 'wild' dragons who had congregated near the academy.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

Astrid patted his shoulder and gave him a tight smile as she walked past him, she wanted to check up on Storm herself. Stoick watched as she walked away with confusion, Astrid didn't even spare the Chief a glance.

"Who is Arrald?" Stoick asked as he watched Astrid softly approach Storm.

"An old… enemy," Hiccup answered after thinking about it for a moment, he knew no other word could describe Arrald. He was their enemy, he was one of the most trusted of Drago's people, like the madman's right hand.

"We will need the academy to be cleared, we have nowhere else to put these…" Stoick gave it some thought, "…vermin."

"I'll take care of it," Hiccup promised as he watched the concern and frustration grow on Astrid's face as she tried, and failed, to talk to Storm. He would need to step in before something went wrong.

Stoick gave a stiff nod and turned to go back to the Meade hall. Hiccup observed the girls for a moment longer and then started to walk their way. If he had paid attention, he would have noticed the vikings observing the 'wild' dragons with appreciation and interest.

"Storm, please," Hiccup heard Astrid beg.

Hiccup walked up and Astrid sent him a desperate look. Storm wasn't talking and Hiccup knew Astrid was wasting her time trying to get her to talk. Hiccup gripped Astrid's shoulder and gently pulled her away from Storm, motioning for her to go help the others.

He didn't say anything even when no one else was around. He knew that would do no difference, Storm would talk when she wanted to and nothing will change that. But he still needed to tell her what was going on.

"We need to clear the academy, they'll be taking some of the men here," He told her as she petted the snout of a Nadder who had a gash on her side. If she hadn't nodded he would have thought she hadn't heard his words.

Hiccup sighed, he needed to get some medicine and fresh water for the injured. With on final look at Storm, he left the academy. It was strange for him to walk through the village and not receive the glares he had become accustomed to. Everyone was doing their thing, whether it was taking care of the injured, tying up the men or cleaning up.

He reached the well and waited for his turn. Not a lot of people paid him attention, just like he preferred. Shouts from the Meade hall rang out. Hiccup knew who the voice belonged to, it seemed like Arrald had woken up.

Stoick had started believing that the 'demons' had tricked him, the no attack was coming. Oh, how wrong he was. The three ships didn't seem like much to worry about, but as the male demon had said, the small number was suspicious.

Really he never felt as much rage as when this Arrald had threatened him and his people. Treating everything like a joke, like he had already won. The fact that Arrald seemed terrified of the 'demons' didn't shock Stoick as much as it should have, but the moment the 'demons' disappeared Stoick knew something was going to go down.

The 'demons' had a reputation. A reputation that rang true. The boy had said he left only the girl to guard the island's back, and when he sent Spitelout to check out if anything had truly happened, Stoick was shocked when his brother reported that there were twelve seemingly unconscious, badly injured men left there.

The girl's bloody appearance made sense then. She had really gone and fought those men alone. Maybe not alone, after all, the 'demons' had dragons.

Stoick went back to the Meade hall to figure out who would stay on Berk and who would be sent to Outcast Island. Berk didn't have dungeons, the only place prisoners could be kept was the academy and it wasn't big enough to hold all of the men.

Stoick saw as Astrid entered the hall. He saw her approach the still unconscious group on the floor. The way she had acted before didn't sit right with the Chief, but he had other things to take care of first, like Arrald, who was starting to wake up.

Stoick was up and near the man before he had fully woken up. The anger in Arrald's eyes was unmistakable. Stoick didn't have time to react before the man was up and had grabbed Astrid, pulling her towards him and holding a dagger to her neck.

"You think I'll give up that easily!?" Arrald shouted with a wild look in his eyes. "I'll kill all of you!"

"You already lost," Stoick tried to argue, his tone was confident because he knew he was saying the truth.

"You think I got my title because of my good manners!?" the man yelled and brought the dagger closer to Astrid's neck. Astrid was shocked more than scared, and Stoick needed this to be over before she could get scared.

"I think you got your title because you're a coward," Stoick growled.

A few of his people were around, but no one made a move yet, they couldn't when one of their own was on the line. More people were coming inside the building, the commotion attracting them. Stoick saw the rest of the gang among the people, they were clearly scared for Astrid.

"A coward?!" Arrald yelled, the men behind him started waking up, Stoick knew the situation needed to be brought back under his control before they did.

"A coward," Stoick confirmed, he was ready to grab Astrid if Arrald made the slightest twitch.

"I'll show yo-!" his scream and movement was cut off. Astrid pulled herself out of Arrald's limp hold, her neck was grazed, but the small wound heal without leaving a scar. Arrald's wound on the other hand… a dagger to the back of his head would leave more than a scar.

Stoick followed the trajectory of the dagger and found the 'demons' on the end of it. The girl more precisely, her hand was still extended from where she let the dagger go. Stoick watched as she turned and left the hall without a word, he was Eret follow her from the corner of his eye.

"We needed him for information," Stoick told the male 'demon' who hadn't moved yet.

"This man was a stain on the world," the male calmly started, "Nothing was lost. He was sent by Drago to take over Berk, nothing was lost with him."

"Then he could have had information on Drago's whereabouts," Stoick told him with a frown.

The people around them hadn't moved. The situation was shocking to say the least. Astrid was gripping her own neck as she sent the 'demon' questioning glances.

"He couldn't, Drago only told you where he was if he was going to hurt or kill you, just ask Eret," the man simply said. His voice held no emotion, whether that was an act Stoick didn't know. "Arrald's people have already left, the ones that could leave that is. Arrald failed, that means that Drago will be coming here himself."

"You don't know that," Stoick argued with a shake of his head.

"I do," the man gave a small nod, "Right now you need to do clean up, we'll have a meeting when convenient for you. It will take Arrald's men some time to get their message to Drago, we have some time."

Finally the man moved. He didn't even glance at Arrald's body, he didn't even glance at anyone but Astrid. The helmets were starting to annoy Stoick more than ever, not having the ability to see how the 'demons' reacted grated on his nerves.

Seeing their faces, their reactions would make things way easier for him. The gang had seen their faces and at times seemed to trust them more than they trusted him. The 'demons' didn't trust him, yet they protected Berk, they seemed to know Arrald, know how he was going to attack. It all confused Stoick and Stoick didn't like being confused.