Dagur didn't wake until the early hours of the evening. If it hadn't been for the crash of thunder, he might of slept longer. Once he managed to get his heart to stop racing and realize it was just a thunderstorm, he felt the pain of yesterday's battle against the Hunters. Cautiously he touched his heavily bandaged shoulder, grimacing from the pain.

The Berserker looked around the room and noticed Jorn sleeping at his desk. He carefully got out of bed and made his way over to the older man. He reached out to shake him awake but thought better of it. Deciding to let the man rest, Dagur, using the wall for support, carefully made his way down the stairs.

He could hear voices talking in somewhat quiet tones. One of them was cooking something that smelled delicious. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, all eyes turned to look at him.

"You are awake," Mala stated, sounding surprised.

"So I've noticed," Dagur replied. "Storms tend to have that effect. That and weird dreams. What's going on?"

"Just talking while supper is cooking," Astrid answered.

"How are you feeling, sweetums?" Mala asked walking over to her husband.

Dagur shrugged with his one good shoulder. "I hurt, but otherwise fine. Why are you guys acting so weird?"

"I wouldn't worry about Dagur," Hiccup said. He was actually sitting up instead of laying flat on his back with just his head propped up. He had a few pillows surrounding him as extra support, but, hey, it was progress. "We've just been worried about you. According to Jorn, you should've woken up some time ago."

"Sorry to worry you," Dagur said as he began swaying.

Mala took hold of his good arm. "How about you take a seat, while Astrid goes and gets Jorn?"

"Yes to the sitting," Dagur agreed as he let his wife lead him over to the table. "No to Jorn. For now anyways. Let him rest for a bit longer. I can wait for a bit. Wouldn't be the first time."

"Fine," Mala sighed. "But if I or anyone else thinks you need him sooner rather than later, we are getting him. Understood?"

"Understood, Mala-poo," Dagur said, flashing her a tired smile as he sat down. "Now what's going on? What happened after the battle? I recall someone telling me about the casualties, after that nothing."

"Sixty people were injured," Mala began. "Mostly minor injuries that were easily treatable. You and a few others had more serious injuries. Eight died in battle. Eldrik and a few others have prepared their bodies for their final voyage. Which is scheduled for tomorrow. Throk and some of his lieutenants have been working on cleaning up and repairing the town square. And the remaining twelve Hunters that were caught are sitting in our jail cells, awaiting judgment."

"We'll hold trials after the funerals," Dagur said. "You can do the first half and I'll get the remaining half. Throk and Vorg can carry out the sentences."

"The Hunters can wait, Dagur," Astrid pointed out. "You need your rest."

Dagur glanced down at his shoulder. "I've had worse. Besides as Chief, it is my duty to carry out justice as soon as possible. The sooner we do that, the better."

Astrid didn't continue the conversation. It wasn't her place. She was not Berserker and had no sway in how things were to be handled. Hiccup however did not intend to stay silent on the matter.

"You can't be serious, Dagur?" the younger chief stated. "You were badly injured protecting your tribe and homeland. I think they will understand if you take a couple of days to recover. Believe me, I know. It's hard to put our needs above the tribe as a whole. But the Hunters are locked up. A few days won't change the outcome. Which, if I remember Berserker and Defender laws correctly the sentence for all of them will be death."

"You're one to talk," Dagur shot back, feeling anger heating up inside him. "You're stuck in a bed far away from an island you've only recently claimed. If you want to talk about law. Hooligan law clearly states that if its Chief is unable to perform his duties for three months or longer, he must step down and let the next in line take over. I'm sure Snothat will be happy to learn that he's Chief. You were already gone for one month and will spend at least two more in bed. You'll be sailing back to Berk, so that's another month."

Hiccup wanted to scream, but instead, he just glared, took a couple of deep breaths, and started laughing. Soon Dagur joined in. As the two laughed their wives just stared at them, wondering what was so funny.

Dagur was the first to calm down. "I'm sorry, brother. You are right. I should take some time to better recover."

"It's alright," Hiccup replied. "Waiting on your body to get better is no easy task. Especially for men in our positions."

"What was so funny?" Mala asked, confusion evident on her face. "One minute you were fighting, the next laughing."

"Nothing to worry about, Mala Poo," Dagur promised. "Sometimes us Chiefs get so hotheaded and mad that laughter is the only way to calm down. It's better than bringing out the swords and starting another war."

"Yeah," Hiccup chimed in. "I saw my dad do it quite a bit growing up. He and another Chief would be shouting about trade negotiations or whatever and one would just start laughing. It helped ease tensions and led to a better understanding of one another."

The two women looked at each other and shrugged thinking the same thing. Men.

Aside from the massive storm outside, the rest of the evening went by without any more excitement. While the four leaders were eating dinner, Jorn woke up and came downstairs. The first thing he did was scold Dagur for getting out of bed before he had a chance to examine him.

"You could have ripped your stitches," Jorn scolded as he unwrapped Dagur's bandages.

"But they didn't," Dagur retorted. "This is far from my first injury." He gestured to his various scars.

"And how many of them sent you into a state of shock?" Jorn asked.

"Shock?" Dagur asked.

Jorn gently touched the area around the wound. "You were unresponsive the entire time we were treating you. Do you remember seeing anything that might have triggered the reaction?"

Dagur thought back to the battle. The sounds of swords and screams. The smell of blood embedded in the air.

Dagur pulled his sword out of the Hunter in front of him, screaming for reinforcements. "Aim those catapults at the lead ship! Do not hit the dragon! I need crossbows for the next wave!"

He stared at the opposing army as they prepared their second wave. His people had already taken a beating in the first wave. The hospital tent was already overflowing with injuries. He could hear someone shouting for more water. But getting water was impossible. The Hunters controlled the remaining wells. The remaining two, Dagur had managed to secure had been destroyed. The only accessible water was the creek, but it was too far in the forest. They had no way of knowing if any of the Hunters had managed to sneak in through the back of the island.

To the left of Dagur stood Captain Vorg. To his right was Throk. Both had a look of determination.

"We will win this night, Chief," Vorg promised.

"The Hunters will not get past us, My Liege," Throk ensured.

Dagur looked back at his people as they scrambled to regroup. The sounds of the second wave charging, closing in. He trusted his people to fight for their homes and families. He trusted them to fight for their allies and friends. He didn't trust them to defeat the odds. They were outnumbered and undermanned. Not everyone fighting was trained for a battle such as this.

Hope was not a strategy, but it was all Dagur had if was he going to pull his people through this. He turned back as just the enemy was inches from his face.

"FIRE!" The Chief screamed. He listened as his archers let loose their arrows, knocking down several Hunters. Catapults launched overhead, hitting one of the Hunter's ships.

He charged into the second wave, screaming wildly, slashing away at the enemy. His vision was red with fury. At some point amongst the chaos he felt something tear through his armor, but he thought nothing of it. He kept going. He needed to keep going.

In the midst of it all, he heard a singular scream. A child's scream. He stopped fighting and located where the scream was coming from. That's when he saw her. A young girl, no more than six, trying to hide under the steps of a house. Several Hunters were closing in on her.

Dagur broke into a run, forcing his way through the battle. As he got closer, he screamed at the Hunters to back off, to leave her alone. He reached her, just in time to cut off the hand of the Hunter reaching out to grab her. He got in between them and the girl, who was sobbing for her mom.

"Don't worry, I'll get you back to your mom," Dagur promised. "Let me just take care of these bad men first."

The Hunters laughed.

"There's five of us and one of you," one of them taunted.

"If you're looking for a fair fight, go get some more of your buddies," Dagur shot back with a maddening grin. He lunged at the Hunters, quickly dispatching them, ensuring they couldn't hurt anyone else.

The Chief turned to retrieve the little girl from under the steps and carried her to the hospital tent where she would be looked after. He promised to help her find her mom once the battle was over.

After ensuring she was in safe hands, he charged back into the battle, killing any Hunter that got in his way.

As the battle began to wind down, and the remaining Hunters tried to retreat, only to be caught by Vorg and Throk, Dagur made his way to the hospital tent to find the little girl and maybe get something for the pain in his shoulder.

He entered the tent and was met with the sight of the little girl crying over a covered body. He said nothing and walked back out to the battlefield.

"There was this little girl," Dagur mentioned, tears forming. "I saved her from some Hunters and took her to the hospital tent, promising to help her find her mom. Only she didn't need my help."

Jorn stopped tending to the injury and gave Dagur a solemn look. "We tried saving the woman, but her injuries were too severe. She was lucky that she got to see her daughter before she passed."

"And the father?" Dagur asked, hoping the little girl wasn't doomed to be an orphan.

"He sustained some minor injuries, and is resting at home," Jorn answered. "She's staying with her grandparents for the time being."

Dagur just nodded, letting the tears silently fall.

Hiccup watched his friend and brother try and hold it together. Both knew what it was like to lose a parent. Both also knew what it was like to lose one in battle. Watching it happen to someone else and knowing there's nothing you could have done was far from an enjoyable experience.

"Well, I see no sign of infection forming," Jorn said, breaking the silence. "I'll apply a honey-based salve just to be on the safe side then rewrap the shoulder. I'd put you on bed rest, but something tells me you won't stay put. So instead you're on limited duty for now. Nothing more strenuous than paperwork and delegating tasks until I say so."

The Berserker Chief nodded again. "Understood."

Author's Note: To the readers who have been patiently waiting for an update. I apologize. I have been dealing with some very heavy family issues as of late and I needed to take time away to deal with what was happening. Thank you for being so patient.

Anyways, back to business as usual. Don't forget to follow and review. I'd love to know what you think of the story.

Until next time