Much like the mood hanging oppressively over the farm, the morning was choked in a misty fog and the sky held an angry grey that promised violent rain. Hiccup pulled his damp vest around his thin torso, trying desperately to keep the warmth in. Even with the milder temperatures of spring and nearly seven hours of sunlight during the day, the winds were chilly in the hills and tried their best to sap the warmth from Hiccup's frail frame.

The teen found a nice perch on a mostly-dry stone halfway up one of the slopes that afforded him a good view of his flock and settled in for another long day. The goats fanned out below him as they grazed contentedly on the spring green grass. Heiflund prowled about, keeping the herd from spreading out too wide.

For an indeterminate amount of time, Hiccup sat with a watchful gaze of his goats, whistling shrill commands to his dog. The sun finally crept over the hills, lighting up the edges of the grey storm clouds. The teen fervently wished that those clouds would part long enough for the sun to shine through to the hills. It had been too long since he had been able to bask in its warmth.

Voff! The booming warning bark from Heiflund echoed through the hills. Hiccup snapped around to see what was going on, body taught to spring into action if need be. A great bulk of a man was charging up the hill at Hiccup, arms held out to grab him. The figure of Steinrodr was unmistakable, even in the gloom of a looming storm. And there was murder in his eyes.

With a cry of alarm, Hiccup threw himself off of his boulder. He dodged a wide swipe from the enraged man and scrambled under his grasping hands. Adrenaline bumped through his veins as he turned on his one foot to flee down the slope. Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup caught the sight of Heiflund charging in, belly low to the ground before she sprang up at Steinrodr and bit into his arm.

The man yelled in pain. He tried in vain to wrench his arm from the dog's grasp, but Heiflund held fast, teeth sunk deep into his flesh as she tried to tug the viking away from her master. Dog and man crashed into the ground with a wet thud.

Hiccup's senses screamed at him to run away while he had the chance, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon his faithful companion. Steinrodr's flailing hand managed to find a rock on the sodden ground and he raised it above his head. That was all it took to kick the teen into action.

"No!" Hiccup screamed, rushing at where the dog and man struggled in the mud. But he was too late to stop the inevitable. Steinrodr slammed the rock down onto the dog's snout and Heiflund released his arm with a pained whimper. She pawed at her snout for a minute before growling helplessly and launching herself at the man again, a flying bundle of teeth, fur, mud, and blood.

Steinrodr was ready for her this time. He caught the dog mid leap, struggling for a minute against her scrabbling paws and snapping jaw before getting a better grip on her.

"Let her go!" Hiccup yelled as he reached the two. He tugged at one of Steinrodr's meaty arms, pulling in the hope of saving his dog.

With a loud cry, the man drew himself upright and threw the thrashing dog down the slope. Heiflund howled in distress as she tumbled down, hitting rocks and brush on her way. The dog rolled to a stop at the bottom of the slope with a final cry and didn't rise.

Hiccup screamed, a guttural and primal sound that couldn't be put to words. Anger so strong that it caused his vision to waver rose within him and he launched himself at the larger man, pummeling, biting, kicking, and scratching everything he could reach.

Steinrodr growled in pain and annoyance. He back-pedaled at the force of Hiccup's onslaught, arms raised to protect himself. Pure rage fueled Hiccup's body until a backhand broke through his frantic struggles and sent him crashing to the ground. Spitting mud and blood from his mouth, the teen scrambled up the slope on all fours, churned earth spraying in his wake. A meaty hand grabbed his flesh leg in a vice grip and started hauling him in. Hiccup clawed the ground as he was pulled back, ripping up great handfuls of moss and grass in a desperate attempt to get away. A forceful tug flipped him over and Hiccup lashed out with his prosthesis, catching his assailant in the sternum. Stenirodr howled in pain and launched himself at the bucking teen, throwing a clenched fist into his temple.

Hiccup's head snapped to the side at the force of the blow. He tried to kick out again, but a heavy weight pinned them into the mud. Bucking against the bulk that held him down, the boy did his best to fend off the blows. His arms screamed in pain from trying to stop Steinrodr's fists from reaching his face and he choked on the blood pouring from his surely broken nose. Two large hands seized his collar and lifted his torso off of the ground before slamming him down. The breath was driven from Hiccup's lungs in a helpless sputter. He was slammed into the ground once, twice, three times more before his arms fell limp by his side and his body slumped boneless in the grip of the man intent on murdering him.

A scream tore through the hillside before Steinrodr pitched forward and his bulk crashed down onto Hiccup. The boy's ringing head was pinned to the ground, one cheek mashed into the soft earth and the other pressed against the rough weave of a tunic. He drew a shuddering breath through split lips, wincing at the pain ringing throughout his body and the pressure constricting his breathing. His stomach protested at the stench of the man on top of him, but Hiccup managed to swallow back the bile. One hand came up to weakly push at the weight pinning him to the ground.

Suddenly, two hands seized Steinrodr's shoulder and heaved. It took two tries before the man was rolled off of him and Hiccup could finally draw a full breath. He hacked and gasped, sputtering on the mud and blood coating his face. Finally, the boy looked up to meet his savior.

Hedda loomed over him, blood spattered on her face. She held out a hand to Hiccup, and the young viking took it on instinct. Nausea roiled in his gut and his head violently protested his attempts to sit up as Hiccup was levered upright. Finally, and only thanks to Hedda's steadying hand between his shoulder blades, the boy managed to gain his feet. Everything hurt and adrenaline still throbbed through his veins like a raging fire. "Wha'?" was all Hiccup managed to squeak out when he opened his mouth to speak.

The overseer just shook her head in response, eyes downcast. She bent down to wipe a blood covered hand on the disturbed earth scattered all around them.

The gears in Hiccup's sore head started clicking into motion as he watched the woman. Why was she covered in blood? It hadn't come from him The teen look to his other side to see Steinrodr's mass splayed out in the mud. A blood covered rock lay next to him. Hiccup's eyes traveled up to the face that just moments before had snarled angrily at him. And, oh gods, his skull was concave. Hedda had literally bashed his head in.

His screaming head, spinning senses, and the dizzying reality of this situation seemed to hit the boy all at once. Almost as if he had been punched in the gut, Hiccup bent over, arms clenched around his stomach, and retched up his money meal of bland oats. Vomit splattered against his trouser leg and Steinrodr's corpse, steaming in the crisp spring air.

"Come," Hedda hauled him upright and pulled him away from the body, ignoring the boy's stumbles and dry heaving.

Hiccup tried to fight off her hands, not sure if he was scared, angry, or in pain. He finally managed to get his feet under him and stop heaving. "No!" he yelled louder than he meant.

"Come," Hedda repeated. "Ve must leave."

Hiccup was too weak to fight back as she dragged his arm over her shoulder and started to hobble down the mountain. The light mist that had been falling all morning turned into a steady rain.

When they drew closer to the bottom of the slope, Hiccup caught sight of a mud covered bundle of tan fur. With a cry, the boy tore himself from the overseer's grasp and fell to his knees beside his dog. Hiccup buried both of his hands in the sodden fur. Heiflund didn't stir.

"No," Hiccup choked on a painful sob. "You have to get up, Heif, we have to go."

The dog didn't respond to her master's desperate pleas or the sharp whistle that followed. "Wake up," Hiccup cried. He shook the smaller body back and forth in the mud.

"'Iccup," Hedda's use of his given name finally broke through to the inconsolable boy. "Ve must go."

Hiccup shook his head frantically, crying out at the pain the movement brought. He fought to stay at his dog's side, jerking out of Hedd's arms to remain kneeling next to Heiflund. Finally, the overseer swore lowly, seized him under both arms, and bodily hauled him away. "There's nothing ve can do fer it," the woman tried to reason with him.

With one last strangled whistle, Hiccup allowed himself to be pulled away. He was too numb and injured to keep fighting, but he cried bitterly as Hedda pulled him through the endless rising and falling terrain of the fog choked hills.

A note on dogs: I've based Heiflund on the Norwegian Buhund. This breed is at least as old as the 10th century and the skeletons of a dog breed very similar to this one was found at the Gokstad excavation. Dogs were expected to continue their duties in Valhalla and as such accompanied their masters even in death, which explains their presence at gravesites and as fighting companions depicted in art and literature. The Buhund was used primarily as a sheep herd dog and farm guard. The American Kennel Club even gives them the epithet "The Dog of the Vikings." They are energetic, reliable, and well suited to the cold northern climates.

I was honestly torn between four different dog breeds at first: the Pyrenean Mountain Dog, the icelandic Sheepdog, the Shetland Sheepdog, and the Norwegian Buhund. The Pyrenean Mountain Dog (Great Pyrenees) is a herd protector that works primarily with sheep and goats and is well suited to the snowy mountain, but it originated and was used farther south in France and Spain. Plus, they are more guard dogs than they are herders. The Icelandic Sheepdog was also used by Vikings as herders, but I decided they were more associated with Iceland (go figure) and the Buhund fit the setting in Norway. The Shetland Sheepdog almoooossssttt was my choice, partially because they look like Collies and partially because they're herd dogs from the Scottish islands, Unfortunately, the Shetland Sheepdog would be a better fit for Berk instead of where Hiccup finds himself in Norway. Oh well.

I put way too much thought into dog breeds guys. Way too much. And yes, I'm going to hell for doing this to a dog.