"Was that really necessary?" Ash Hofferson angrily hissed at her younger brother as he quietly sat in the corner of the room, with a guilty face, hugging his knees, terrified to what he had done to his opponent who he was meant to only knock off his feet.
It was an embarrassing victory. Usually it was the Jorgensons who had broken rules and shamed their family names. Today it was the Hoffersons, the family that had always been true, and honourable and won fairly in whatever they participated in.
His sister sensed his discomfort and knew what he was thinking of. "Oh, don't beat yourself up about breaking rules. You are the Chief of the Outcasts. You are practically encouraged to break rules."
"I… I… I don't know what I was doing? It was like something else took control over my body."
"Yeah, sure." She said, disbelievingly, tightening a bandage over Spitlout's chest.
"You have to believe me!?" The young boy screamed. "There was this weird voice in my head and—"
His sister spun around and looked at him with an intense stare. He then realised, that he had just said something he shouldn't have. Voices in your head meant one thing in the Viking World: madness.
"Hak—"
She was interrupted when their mother and Snotlout Jorgenson entered the Healing Hut. Her mother keeping a distrusting and spiteful eye on him.
"Is he alright?" Astrid asked, not taking her ever distrustful eye off Snotlout.
"He'll live." Ash shrugged, continuing her work on the bandage.
"Of course he will! He's a Jorgenson! He'll take anything!" Snotlout boasted, despite how no one really cared at that moment.
The arrogant younger version of that man groaned and drifted back to consciousness. "Hey, good-looking." He wiggled his eyebrows, seeing how she was pressing on his chest bandage, as was standard healing procedure in this situation. "See? Told you, you couldn't keep away from… this."
"And… I want to vomit."
"Keep it in, sis, 'cause I'm not doing that." The Outcast Chief looked disgustedly at her actions, which although were for a healing purposes only, looked slightly wrong.
"You, young man." Snotlout closed in on Hakon. "Are in a heap of trouble?"
"You're not my dad to tell me that." The young man gritted his teeth back at the man that once, almost raped his beloved mother.
"Oh no, but I am the dad of the guy that you almost killed."
"I thought you said Jorgensons could take anything?" Astrid said.
"There were rules and he broke them, Astrid."
"Kind of like you always do?"
"That's not the point. When I cheated in something, it didn't almost cost someone's life and you know it?"
"Really? That's not exactly how I remember it." She smirked as he gulped air like a fish without water.
"Ok, done." Ash broke the stare down between Jorgenson and Hofferson-Haddock. "He needs rest and plenty of it. Don't remove the bandages." She slapper Spitlout's hand as he tried to peek in at his super-cool- and-awesome new battle wound.
Snotlout huffed. "Whatever. I suppose he's staying here over night?"
"As sickening as that thought is, yes. I need to re-apply herbs every couple of hours." She said disgustedly… Urgh Jorgensons…
"Hold on a minute. You're not sleeping in the same room as… that, young lady."
"Really? You afraid, Astrid?"
"Of leaving my unmarried daughter to sleep in the same room as your disgusting son, what do you think?!"
"You know… the unmarried part of that is still up for taking, my price is more than generous."
Ash's jaw almost dropped to the ground hearing that. She looked at the… the thing… beneath her with a face of utter disgust and horror.
"Over. My. Cold. Dead. Body." Astrid glared at him.
Ash breathed out a huge breath of satisfaction. "Thank Odin." She looked at her brother, who with, a conversation she was aching to have. "You know mom, this guilt-face," she tipped his head, so that it bobbed, "could stay here and watch if Spitlout doesn't do anything."
Astrid looked between her son and daughter and her… ex-fiancé's son. "Considering today's fight, I'm sure it's safe then."
"Mom!"