It had been years since Farran found himself in this position. Standing in the middle of a half-ruined village right after a horrifying raid by fire breathing monsters. Buildings burning, livestock and crops obliterated, and death were the most common factors in the aftermath of such an attack. Normally these deaths would consist of dragons as well as vikings, but tonight that was not the case. There wasn't even a single scale to be found anywhere among the carnage as the dragon, or dragons that had attacked had managed to do so from the safety of the sea.

"Cowards." Farran spat furiously. However this insult extended to more than the simplistic minds of the scaly demons, but also the former dragon hunter Ryker too and what men still followed his command. A true viking would have at least had the honor to fight on even terms face to face! Such bravery would have claimed glory within the grand halls of Valhalla itself! But this? Striking at women and children? Most tribes had grown beyond such barbaric bloodshed.

The hunter was unable to get any further with his rage induced thoughts as a sudden whimper from the young girl sounded behind him. It had been ten minutes since she had first fainted from the final blast of whatever monster had attacked the village, as well as any hope for escaping his enemys stronghold. But now that she was awake her first instinct was to huddle over her still unconscious mother, holding her larger arm like it was some sort of stuffed animal toy. Her cries were easily heard through the remains of the burning and cracking wood that once made up their home. For a moment, Farran considered leaving the two in the hopes of finding something sea worthy among the docks; or whatever had survived of them. There was nothing else that he could do or provide beyond the words of mere comfort, and considering what the lass had been through they would likely go unheard. Not to mention that he was supposed to be this islands prisoner still. A sudden attack would not change those facts.

Muttering a quick prayer to the gods in the hopes that the mother would be fine, he walked past the pair sparing only a glancing, somewhat sorrowful look before his own needs quickly filled his mind.

As expected, every part of the dock before him was obliterated. Every small boat gone, this he had witnessed. But maybe he could salvage something further down or even a vessel with minor damage inflicted. But such ships would have easily out-massed a dinghy. His next best bet was a longship. A much larger vessel but one he could manage to sail on his own if it was of a simple enough build. Of course sailing out from the mangled harbor after an attack would raise questions but if he was able to convince a small handful of people that he was going to go out to search for survivors then it might end up working in his favor provided that they didn't know who he was which was very likely. It was his best bet. He began to travel down the edge of the island, keeping his eyes open...

...

Almost as soon as he had started, Farran stopped. Something... or someone was pulling on his arm. It wasn't a hard pull either. In fact it had barely been noticeable. The hunter did his best to hold in an irritated sigh having a good idea who had just grabbed him. He looked to the source and as sure as the sea was blue, it was the same little girl he had saved.

He hadn't even made it ten meters before she had tried to prevent him from running off. Not that she had the strength to, not to mention that she only came up to his thigh so any attempt she made could be easily thwarted by the much larger adult. Instead, all she had to do was utter a few simple words.

"Please don't go."

She practically begged those words and repeated them several times, even tugging at his arm once more in a soft yet desperate attempt to keep him with her. The hunter reasoned that she didn't feel safe on her own and needed him. At least until her mother woke up where he would practically be forgotten soon afterwards. But of course there was the obvious concern for Farran was that he had a limited amount of time before Heather would come looking for him. After all her metal covered pet had seen him escape his half-destroyed prison and would inform her of that in whatever way it could. He did not have long and he knew it.

And yet the hardened hunter found himself holding the sniffling child by her tiny hand and leading her back over to the parent where he kneeled in the sand and waited with what patience he could muster. The girl continued to hold his hand but her attention had once more focused on her mother.

Farran, for once was... unsure what to do. Console the poor thing obviously but the question was how? He had no experience towards this sort of thing and tried to rack through his brain for an answer. He thought back to his own childhood when his own mother would comfort him when he needed reassurance but such memories were too few and far inbetween to come up with an actual answer. Right now his mere presence was all he could offer. For the time being it seemed to be enough.

When the inevitable finally happened and Heather appeared on top her beast, Farran found himself more focused on the mothers breathing which seemed steady enough to confirm that she would be okay. It seemed to bring him some slight comfort knowing he hadn't been sitting and waiting around for her untimely death. He was about to say something to the girl, probably something about how her mother would be fine. However it seemed that she had ended up falling asleep leaving the hunter to wonder how long he had actually been waiting around for? Not that it mattered now. Funnily enough the very young berserker had fallen asleep on him instead of her own mother. Something that was soon rectified as Farran very carefully pried her off and against the parents arm. He then stood up and turned his full attention to the enemy.

The hunter studied her face and found a flurry of emotions radiating from it. Confusion, caution, even a modicum of amusement. Saddness and rage however were all the more noticeable from her tight lips and narrowed eyes. Even the dragon itself managed to mimic most of the same expressions to Farrans surprise. Confusion and sadness was just as obvious. Discovering a dragon hunter helping two Berserker villagers was clearly not what they had expected to come across. Finding the strength in his legs the former captain moved forwards, walking past the razorwhips head and eyeing it as it gave a warning growl in case he tried anything against its rider. It didn't take long before he was staring upwards at the roughly armored girl as she sat from the safety of her dragon. Her eyes still looked over to the sleeping pair a short distance away. Farran decided to wait until she was ready.

Soon enough she managed to slowly break her eyes from the two villagers. She open her mouth but whatever she was about to speak but the hunter beat her to the punch.

"Were you able to stop it?" It obviously referring to the newest dragon in Rykers arsenal that had struck them.

Heather grimaced. The negative expression was all too clear what the answer was. Farran growled.

"Damn bastard." He muttered mostly to himself. "Taking out Viggo, the dragon riders... you." He gestured to Heather. Something she tried not to take offence to. "Those targets I understand. But this? May the gods curse his greasy hide for this!"

Heather silently agreed. As vicious and as violent and as precise as this attack had been she couldn't help but feel some guilt of considering she was responsible for the islands safety, as well as the safety of every single villager. For a moment neither party said anything, too caught up in their own emotions. The rider managed to find her voice this time and asked her own question.

"What am I going to do with you?" She said exhausted. Farran raised an eyebrow. "One moment you're trying to kill me and the next I find you like... this, helping my own." Her voice soon took on a frustrated stressful tone. "Not to mention that the only available hut I could lock you up in is gone now and half the island is burning around us, not to mention those who couldn't make it to a ship in time! Oh, and let's not forget that son of a half-troll Ryker is out there possibly waiting to take another shot at us while we're down! And of course on top of all those things, I have to deal with you escaping now so you tell me Farran! What! Exactly! Am I going to do with you?!"

Farran didn't say anything. Heathers angry words had caught him off guard. He had never heard or seen her so hate-filled before, even when he was staring down at her through the bars of a jail cell back on Viggos fortress island. The stress of everything was weighing down on the former spy. For a moment he was certain she was going to suddenly unsheathe her weapon and deal with him right there and then. Considering that he was still standing though, he managed to formulate a plan as quickly and as carefully as he could that could work in both of their favors. It also meant a form of betrayal against his own but considering they had already done just that, the worry of their safety was at an all time low for the hunter. Right now it seemed that it was the only hand he could play and he intended to use it.

"How about a trade?" He responded crossing his arms. "As you know being a former captain of a ship in Viggos fleet, I know the locations of several dragon caging sites spread across several islands. Some that you and the rest of your riders have no doubt infiltrated but there are plenty that remained untouched. I'm offering to give these locations in exchange for-"

"Let me guess." Heather interrupted. "Your freedom?"

"-The chance to take out Ryker."

Heather may not have realized it given what she had just been forced to experience but Farran had lost just as much as her. His crew, his ship, the entire trust and loyalty of the hunters that now stood alongside the traitorous monster. Right now vengeance trumped everything else for the lone hunter. Besides, even if Heather accepted and they managed to win, what did she expect to happen? It would be him against the entire archipelago. So unless he renounced his dragon hunting ways (unlikely) then he would certainly not last long. She must have known this.

The rider gave a hollow 'HA' in response. "Do you really think I'm going to take you up on your word just like that?"

"I've never lied to you before." Farran challenged. "And according to your own words it's one less problem either way."

The glare she gave didn't soften at all. Instead she just sat there on the back of her dragon thinking of what to do. Eventually her form of response was to pat the metal dragon and have it lower onto its stomach. The rider slid forward in her seat offering enough room for a second passenger. The hunter paled a little of having to climb on the back of the dragon, not for the first time either. He looked back on the two villagers having nearly forgotten them and now found them in the care of what seemed to be berserker warriors and a single healer, much to his relief. Glad that that was behind him now the young lad swallowed his pride and climbed on top of the dragons back, using its metal armored sides as a foothold to get up. An action that caused an annoyed huff from said creature.

"By the way." Heather piped up. "How are you expecting to deal with Ryker with that?" She nearly prodded his gut, reminding him of his stabbed abdomen. "You do realize there's a very strong chance you'll be easily cut down, right?

Farran shrugged. "We're vikings. It's an occupational hazard."

With those final words, they were off up into the air. Ready to settle the score.