A shriek made Iris open her eyes. The sun was barely up, the night sky still dominating the view outside the bedroom window. Which was open for some reason. She groaned and rolled over to snuggle up to Dagur. Whatever it was could wait until later.

She was just starting to fall back to sleep when something sat on her and tugged at her hair. Her eyes opened to glare at a bright green Terrible Terror with red wings that was sitting on her. It tilted its head, giving a soft chirp before kneading its claws on the blanket. Unwillingly she wiggled away from Dagur as the Terror jumped off to sit on the dresser and watch her.

Her bare skin protested leaving the warm bed. Quickly she pulled a soft fur around her shoulders to keep some of the chill away. Since their first night together over a week ago it wasn't unusual for them to be in bed naked. Dagur liked to reclaim her as his nightly to politely put it. At least they could enjoy themselves without much worry. After their first time, Ellie had handed her a packet of dried herbs with a knowing look and the reassurance they would help prevent a child. At least until things were more stable.

"Gimme," she grumbled, beckoning for the Terror to hand over the message. It chirped and offered her a tightly rolled message it held in its claws. "Thank you."

It was from the Icer tribe. The sleepiness she had was dashed away at their tribe symbol. Eagerly she opened it and began to read the message. While it wasn't the best news it was news she expected.

The day after their return to Berserk Iris decided to contact the Icer tribe. With the elders help she was able to get the letter written and sent out with their approval. She had asked for the possibility to meet, to introduce herself, and discuss their requirements to mend the damaged relationship between the two tribes.

The elders had warned her they probably wouldn't be so willing to work things out and they were partly right. The Icer chief wanted to meet her and Dagur but continuously mentioned in the message there would be no way to mend their tribal relations after everything that happened. Iris knew it would be a challenge but if they could get the elusive Icer tribe to at least agree to trade with them it would make meeting with other tribes much easier.

In the message the chief requested they meet in a week's time at their island. It was possible, she knew that much, but was still rather rude to request such a sudden meeting in a short time. She had expected to send more Terror mail before finally getting him to agree to meeting Dagur and her.

"Good job," she told the Terror. "Go get some rest. There's no need for a response." It bobbed its head and flew out the window.

Iris walked over to the window. Before closing it she gazed outside. Dagur's house was at the highest point in the village, near the Great Hall, and offered a great view. From here she could see the port, the small merchant square, even the festival ground. To outsiders it may look rough and rugged but she only saw home where children played and people went about their lives in peace.

Things were better thanks to Berk's help. The ship with the supplies Stoick promised arrived within a few days of their return. The ship not only had much needed supplies, crop seed, and new tools but also had a crew that offered to help. Their help was warmly welcomed by the village and they were treated well.

Already another storehouse was being built as was a dragon stable. The blacksmith was working overtime with glee thanks to the raw ore Berk was willing to give up. Women were working on new clothes and farmers were eagerly planting.

Hiccup and Fishlegs actually stopped by two days ago with some welcome help, a trio of Gronkles. The dragons were naturally wary as were the people but Dagur and Iris soothed both sides. They explained how the Gronkles would help clear the rocky soil and assured the dragons they would be safe. Dagur was very explicit about what would happen if tried to harm the Gronkles during their time here.

"Hopefully they will decide to stay here permanently," Hiccup had said. "They would at least be a start to your people accepting dragons." Iris hoped so too but didn't say anything.

"What are you doing?" Dagur asked sleepily. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and his chin rest on the top of her head. "Its not time to get up."

"We got a response from the Icer tribe," Iris answered. "They want to meet in a week's time but are very adamant that we won't be able to fix things."

"They haven't met you," he chuckled. "Good thing we already have a ship ready."

"Its always a good idea to have one ready at all times," she chided. "You never know when there's a surprise meeting or something. Hey!"

Dagur lifted her up and carried her back to their bed. With ease he set her on the bed before crawling in after her. She shivered as the warmth from his body chased away the slight chill in hers. His arms wrapped back around her and pulled her close.

"We'll talk more later," he yawned. "Now its time for sleep." She couldn't agree more as she yawned herself.

Somehow she had fallen back asleep. A rooster crowed somewhere in the village only to have some other roosters answer it. Terrible Terrors shrieked as they flew to the rookery to wait for breakfast. The village was waking up and getting ready to go about their day.

With a yawn Iris rolled over and got out of bed again. This time she got dressed before pulling the fur wrap around her. She sat on the bed, watching Dagur for a few moments. No matter how often she looked at him she never got tired of staring at him. His blue claw tattoo was a stark contrast against his red hair and green eyes. His scar, even though she knew it had been a painful experience when he received it, added to his rugged charm she loved.

"I can feel you staring," Dagur grumbled. He opened his eyes to look at her. "I like it better when I wake up with you in bed with me still."

"Mhm and you try to keep me from leaving," Iris teased. She leaned forward and gave him a soft peck on the lips. "When should we leave?" He groaned.

"It'll take about five days to get there," he muttered as he rubbed his face. "They want to meet in a week's time?" She hummed an affirmative. "We should leave tomorrow. It'll give the crew time to say goodbye to their families."

"We'll have to let Rohan know what to do while we are gone." He grunted. "Enigma and Jager will be able to come right?"

"Yeah. We're using one of the ship my men and I used when we were part of the Dragon Hunters. Its sturdy, can withstand most ship attacks, and there's plenty of space below deck for supplies along with those two. Plus those ships are faster."

"You don't still have Dragon Hunter stuff on it do you?"

"Nope. First thing I told the crew when I told them to get her ready. Clean her up and get rid of everything Dragon Hunter except the cages. Those are too expensive to get rid of."

"Too bad we can't sell them."

To avoid the Dragon Hunters getting a hold of anymore resources, Iris and Dagur both agreed to keep anything related to dragon hunting and capturing on Berserk and out of the market. It left them with some expensive items and no market but it gave their blacksmith something to experiment with. If he could break down the cages that had been in the four ships he could maybe make new things for the tribe.

"Come on now," Iris said. "Get out of bed! We have things to do!"

Grudgingly he got up, yawning, so Iris headed out of their room to the main level. The house felt more homey than the first time she entered. Decorations dotted the walls, mostly shields, skins, and some hand carved artwork, and several rugs were scattered about to cut the chill of the floor. Her kitchen was better stocked with kitchen supplies thanks to the women of the village banding together to give what they could spare.

She pulled out a loaf of bread and sliced it up while she waited for the stove to start burning the wood she placed inside. It quickly began to catch and grew stronger as it moved across the chunks of wood. She placed a pan on top, letting it warm up before adding some lard and eggs once the lard melted.

By the time Dagur got downstairs, dressed in his usual clothing of light armor, Iris had a stack of toast, fried eggs, and fried sausages ready on the table. He dug in with gusto while she waited for her water for her tea to heat up. Ellie recommended drinking one cup of the preventative herbs every morning, steeped strongly.

The first time Iris made the tea Dagur had been curious. She told him that it wasn't for him but when she had her back turned to grab something he took a sip. The gagging made her laugh and decide against scolding him. As he tried to scrape the taste off his tongue she explained what it was and what it was for since he didn't want to keep his hands off her. He nodded, looking a little guilty but also very smug.

They took the time each morning to discuss what they planned on doing for the day. Most of Iris' work lately was teaching the children edible plants thanks to the books Fishlegs sent and the free adults what medical herbs were good to pick. She also popped in to check on the Gronkles and farmers, who were getting along amazingly, and check in with the women who were working to make clothes for the other villagers who were busy. Today she planned on seeing what edible plants could be saved for future use and how and to teach any free adults how. Usually her classes were filled to the brim. She suspected some were ditching work to attend but no one complained so far.

Today Dagur was working with the guards in their training. Every adult went on guard rotation even though it was primarily the men who did it. It was an unspoken agreement that the women had the most to deal with outside their craftsmen so they didn't need to take on the rotation unless they wanted to. However Dagur still trained with them every chance he got.

"My lady," Ellie said as Iris exited her home. "I'm going to need your time this morning. We've been working on your bridal clothes and need you to wear it so we can make the finishing touches."

"I don't know," Iris began but Dagur interrupted her.

"Take her away even if she protests," he said with a wink at Iris. "Hopefully we can hold this wedding soon once we finish meeting with the Icer and Murking tribes. It'll be even more of a celebration!"

Iris glowered at him but had to agree. The people of Berserk were anxious for their wedding to be held, probably so then she wouldn't be able to leave if she somehow decided to. Everytime she and Dagur explained things needed to be done before the wedding could be held, the villagers clamoured about what they could do to help. It was rather sweet if she was honest.

Ellie led her away to her house which wasn't too far from Dagur and her's. Inside were several other women that Iris recognized, mostly widows, and their children. They were all smiles, eagerly dragging her inside to strip her and get her redressed. She didn't have a chance to take in what the dress looked like until Lila and another woman brought a tall mirror out and set it in front of her. All she could do was stare in awe as the other women made final touches.

It was made out of a heavy white cotton material, at least she figured it was given how soft it was. Black and gold trim was sewn into the collar of the dress along with the lower hem and the sleeve edges. The sleeves opened up slightly so they weren't snug against her wrists. Surprisingly they had been embroidering on it. A Skrill, she should have known, dominated the front of the skirt part of the dress while what looked like Enigma, it wasn't finished, was on the bodice piece. Ingrid, one of the only married women there, draped a red shawl over her arms. It was long enough to touch the floor. A black belt was added to finish the whole dress.

"Perfect," Lila declared. "Now to get you and our chief wed before anything happens to change that." Iris coughed in shock, feeling her face turn bright red as some of the women giggled.

"Lila," Ingrid scolded. "That's rude."

"But true aye my lady," Lila said with a grin. "The day after your return the chief was strutting about like a proud rooster. Doesn't take much to figure out especially since you were slow moving as well."

"I'm not talking about this," Iris said firmly, ignoring the fact her face was warm. "This is beautiful ladies. It makes me feel terrible that I haven't done anything to help."

"It is our honor," Ellie said. "It is common for women kin to help a young woman prepare her bridal gown but since you have no kin here, we are honored to help. Besides, you and chief Dagur have been busy fixing the problems that occured while he was gone so its understandable that you are limited with your free time." She smiled slyly at Iris. "Just keep drinking those herbs I gave you. Alright?"

"This is embarrassing," Iris muttered as the women laughed. Even Ingrid, how was always so serious, couldn't help but giggle. "Can I take this off now? I have to prepare for tomorrow."

"What is happening tomorrow?" one of the women asked.

"We got a reply from the Icer tribe finally," she answered. She lifted her arms as the women pulled the dress off. "They want to meet with us in a week's time. So tomorrow we need to leave."

"We wish you luck my lady," Ellie said. "Hopefully you will return with good news."

"I hope so too," Iris sighed.

Quick enough she was dressed and out the door. With a reminder to them not to be late for the weaving review, Iris headed off to start her work for the day. First she made her way to the fields to see how the farmers and Gronkles were doing.

Surprising she stumbled upon the farmers rubbing Gronkle bellies while the dragons panted excitedly over the attention. The current fields had been worked to rich black dirt while the two new fields were rooted through. Iris suspected not a rock would be found in any of the fields thanks to the Gronkles.

"My lady," one farmer said suddenly. He jumped to his feet with a sheepish look on his face. "Apologies. We weren't skirting our work. The Gronkles just-"

"They are very affectionate dragons," she commented. She walked forward and rubbed the belly the farmer had jumped away from, receiving an excited growl. "Its good to take time to let them know they are appreciated. Especially when they are doing good work."

"We just finished smoothing out the last fields they worked," one other farmer explained. "And plan on starting planting while some of us work on smoothing out the other two fields. They were a great help. We'd still be clearing rocks but they rooted out every one and ate them right up."

"They really like the black heavy rocks," a young man commented. "Those are their favorite. They'll plow other rocks out of the way to get to them."

"I'll have to see what kind of rocks those are," Iris said. "So. How do you all feel about these three Gronkles staying here permanently? If they are willing obviously."

"I think I speak of all of us when I say we'd love for that," the first farmer said eagerly. "They are great help. When they are tired of eating rocks they are happy to help us get supplies up here. The red one even chases rabbits and birds off which causes the other two to join it. Its like they know those animals will eat the seeds and young plants."

"They aren't stupid. They know what you tell them and they know you are working hard to get crops to grow. Out of respect of you they'll chase away anything that tries to harm your hard work. Perhaps some of you would be willing to be their Riders." A few of the farmers looked eager while the others grew pale faced and quickly shook their heads. "Those of you who are interested discuss among yourselves. Since there are only three Gronkles, only three of you can be their Riders. You will need to speak to the chief about lessons as well."

They all nodded eagerly. She bade them a good day, gave the Gronkle one more good scratch, and headed back to the village. Children eagerly followed after her, bombarding her with questions she tried her best to answer.

All too quickly the day was done. She prepared a simple meal, not point in a big one to go to waste while they were gone, and waited for Dagur. He came home later than usual covered in grime, dust, and some blood. Of course.

"I promise none of it is mine," he said jokingly.

"It better not be," she scolded. "All I need is for you to be hurt before heading out to meet with a possible ally."

"Of course." He pulled her in close despite her protests and gave her a kiss. "How was your day? Did you like the dress they've been working on?"

"Its beautiful," Iris said as she pushed him to the large bowl of water she had for him to wash up in a little. "I feel bad that they have to do all the work. Especially since traditionally I should be the one working on it. They keep telling me its an honor and I'm busy but still."

"Let them," he said. "They are right. You are too busy. Hopefully we can have things calm down after the wedding. Everything should be more stable before then."

"Hopefully. First step towards things getting stable, meeting with potential allies."

"As you keep telling me."