Chapter Text
Dagur wakes up slowly and finds that Hiccup is already awake, and braiding his hair. Hiccup looks mournful as he works.
“Brother?”
He whispers. Hiccup bites his lip. His little brother’s green eyes are glistening.
“I messed up… I should have-”
Hiccup stutters out and Dagur interrupts.
“Dragons hurt you, it only makes sense that seeing them in action again freaks you out. “
“But that will make me useless if we get attacked! And I embarrassed us in front of our new allies. What if they don't want to be allies anymore?”
“I doubt that Hiccup. Come on. Let's go to the stall. Let them tell you themselves .”
“It's… there's a thunderstorm. They might not come.”
Dagur can hear the pounding rain and the slight rocking of the ship.
“I'd be questioning their abilities if they let a little rain stop them.”
Dagur says with a roll of his eyes. Hiccup quietly concedes and sighs, leg likely hurting from the weather change. Dagur is gentle when he applies Hiccup's medicine and makes sure to massage his brother's scarred tissue a little more than usual. Hiccup lets out slow concentrated breaths and leans on him a little as they walk through the rain to their stall.
Dagur lights a few candles to help with light and the two settle under the tent as the rain beats a war song outside. He really does hope that the Grimborns will keep their word and show up. He starts carving something while Hiccup picks back up the armor that he had been stitching.
Then Ryker and Viggo step into the stall. Dagur feels a flash of relief as his brother's shoulders sag. He offers up two stools to the men, shifting his own stool closer to Hiccup.
“Hiccup, if it is alright with you and your brother, I would like to discuss an idea that my dear brother and I had.”
Viggo opens the conversation, eyes barely flickering to Dagur before fully focusing on Hiccup. Hiccup's hands bunch up the cloth he has been working with as his knuckles go white. Dagur reaches out in response to his brother's distress, gently touching his brother's back.
“Are… are you rethinking the alliance because of me?”
Hiccup sounds so horribly resigned and Dagur chokes down a growl, knowing that it is not what his brother needs at this second. Viggo frowns deeply and leans forward.
“Why would we ever do that?”
Hiccup makes a choking little noise and then his hands are moving.
“-Because I'm weak. Useless.-”
Dagur cannot hold back the snarl and yanks Hiccup into a tight hug. He knows that is an echo of the Hooligan tribe speaking and hates it.
“Not useless .”
He growls, daring the world to try and challenge his words. Viggo speaks again, voice sounding much more careful and delicate as if trying not to shatter Hiccup with his voice.
“I think your inventions speak for themselves. I don't know of anyone else who can hold a candle to your accomplishments. Please do not degrade yourself so my dear. Fear from past trauma is not a weakness. But it is what I wished to speak about. My tribe has a few methods for trying to get over such things.”
Dagur tilts his head at the offer. If they could help Hiccup… It might be worth trying. Hiccup squirms a little in his arms, but Dagur refuses to let go. Hiccup sucks in air but says nothing. So Dagur speaks.
“Methods like what? I don't like the idea of stressing my brother.”
Ryker responds to Dagur.
“Some of it is just exposure and breathing exercises. A lot of men benefit from watching dragons fire while their ears are blocked, and then listening without being able to see the flame. It dissociates the noise.”
Ryker shrugs and Dagur can see the merits of the ideas. Hiccup presses into him a little.
“Can… would I get to see how Gronkle iron-making works?”
Hiccup whispers, ending with a soft chirp, and Viggo’s eyes alight.
“I would love to show you. In fact, I think that would be an excellent method to help you.”
“Hiccup’s not going anywhere without me.”
Dagur tilts his head up just a little. Ryker grins, and it is a wild thing, like how a briar patch would look for a rabbit.
“I would never suggest that he should.”
Dagur immediately relaxes. No threats here. Only potential help.
--
It is a little weird having thick muffs over his ears and muting sounds while standing inside a ship. It had taken a moment to convince Dagur to let them go into the belly of the ship. But he had convinced Dagur. And the willingness of the Grimborns to let them both keep their weapons had soothed his brother a lot too.
Hiccup’s arms are tightly hooked around Dagur’s left arm as he watches the dragons spit out molten rock. He watches how slowly the Gronckles eat. He feels a sliver of empathy for them as they are forced to eat more and more. But then he recalls how many times Berk had to rebuild homes and how lean some winters could get. He had a few distinct memories of being five and clawing for tubers in ice ice-cold dirt in the forest, desperate for food to survive the winter. The empathy fades to something easily ignored.
He feels none of that overwhelming fear that he had felt the last time that he had seen this kind of dragon in action. He relaxes his grip on his brother, slowly relaxing. He lets out a soft breath. Viggo gently taps his shoulder and starts to move his hands once he has Hiccup’s attention.
“-Do you want to try taking off the muffs?-”
Hiccup shakes his head. He is a bit terrified that the noise would overwhelm him. Viggo gives a nod. They then have a signed conversation about the Gronckle iron making process, with Viggo letting him know about the ingredients and the hardiness of the metal. Hiccup is fascinated, mind already swirling a little with all this new information and how it could help him build more things.