'WAKE UP'

Vidar shot up from his position where he had fallen asleep in the cell still holding the hanging dead Ragnar. Sniffing the air, Vidar could smell fresh morning dew and could tell by the light it wasn't even sunrise yet. Looking around, he saw the door was open and he walked through, following the stairs out of the dungeon until he was standing just outside of the great hall, looking around almost lost.

'Find a weapon'

Vidar walked over to a small building and pushed the door open. Inside were a number of broken or rusty tools and weapons in large bins or thrown on the floor. Looking around the young caribou started throwing items around in search of something that he could use. He eventually found an old and rusty hatchet along with a large hunting knife duller than a spoon. As he turned to leave, a large figure blocked the door.

"You know, if you wanted a weapon, we would have gladly got you some better ones." The figure told him. "But I guess we should be properly introduced. You said your name was Vidar; well I'm Ivor."

Vidar held both weapons at the ready, knowing he couldn't trust just anyone. Ivor then gestured for him to follow as he walked down a pathway.

'Can't trust'
'Don't follow'
'Could be a trap'

Voices seemed to tell Vidar in his head, making him knock the back end of the hatchet into his head trying to stop them.

'Stop that NOW'

A fourth voice suddenly told him. While the other voices only yelled, cried, or screamed, this one it actually talked and soothed. Vidar stopped his assault on his own skull, hoping to hear the voice again.

'Go with him'

Vidar took a second and stepped out of the building, seeing the Warborn chief waiting on him. Slowly he approached Ivor, still very cautious of him.

"There we go." Ivor smiled. "Now come on we're getting you everything you need to join the warborn." The older caribou smiled leading him to a corner of the fort where they found several female caribou waiting alongside a large wooden tub.

Vidar looked at the gathering curiously before he felt the weapons he had just found taken by a large female caribou. Vidar was about to make a move for them but was stopped by another female wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hey, don't worry you can have those back when we're done." She told him but he still struggled to get out of the female's grip. "You probably haven't had a bath in who knows how long." Vidar was quickly pulled over to the tub of clean steaming water.

"Make him squeaky clean girls," Ivor called, leaving the half-dozen females to their work.

Vidar suddenly had his pants ripped off of his legs and was thrown into the water. Almost instantly, the once clear water had turned a murky green where the young caribou had landed. When he surfaced he was met by several brushes and cloths that began cleaning him from head to hoof. At first, he fought the onslaught of cows cleaning him as they cleaned some of his fresher scars and bruises until one took a brush between his antlers and began scrubbing, getting a soft almost purr from the young caribou.

"When was the last time you even heard of a bath?" One of the cows asked, pulling his hair from his braid.

"Must have been a while, " another cow said, scrubbing Vidar's arm. "Some of these mud patches have plants growing from them."

"Forget the mud look at all of these." A third cow said, running a few fingers over the various scars and runes. "I can't even read half of these."

"We'll ask the chief later, " The first said, combing Vidar's hair and putting it back into its braided row. As the group finished up, the water that was once clear was now almost black with a much cleaner Vidar sitting in it. "Alright, we'll leave you to get dressed." The first cow said, putting a pair of pants and a sort of vest-like shirt next to the tub and left him to it.

Vidar hopped out of the tub and grabbed the clothes. Inspecting them, while they seemed a little on the big side, he could deal with that. He looked at the back of the shirt and saw a red raven in a swooping or attacking movement. Vidar had seen the symbol on the clothes of the female caribou who had helped clean him, he wondered what it meant.

'Follow the red raven'

As soon as he heard the voice from earlier Vidar put on the clothes, tightening it and rolling up the pant legs so they fit better. He soon walked out of the area where the tub was and followed the sounds of voices which led him to the center of the camp where he found the Warborn and Iron Talon sitting around a smoldering fire and finishing breakfast. As he walked amongst them looking as some exchanged old stories or sharpening weapons a few gave him a quick glance or a wave as if he was one of their own.

'Don't be fooled'
'They'll hurt you'
'Just like they did'

Vidar gave his head a hard shake, stopping the voices. He kept walking through the two groups until he saw Ivor looking over a map on a table along with Gaius. Vidar heard them talking, not really listening. He saw two bowls on the table with steam coming from them, as the two leaders talked, Vidar looked at them back and forth before snagging both bowls and walked to a rock nearby and sitting down. As the two continued to talk Vidar watched and quickly downed the contents of the bowls and went back to watching.

'We need to find her'

The deep voice in his head said, making him jump off the rock and started walking to the gate but stopped when a smell hit his nose. Sniffing the air he made his way back into the fort until he saw a large cauldron over a fire with something cooking in it. As he got close enough to look into it see it filled with a bubbling liquid that smelled of herbs and vegetables. He slowly started to reach into it but was stopped when a wooden spoon quickly smacked the back of his hand making him jump back, drop to all fours ready to pounce, and growled at who had struck him.

"Don't y'all go growl at me ya Lil shit." The unmistakable twang of Applejack told him as she went back to working on the stew. "If ya want some you're gonna wait like everyone else." She turned to see him still on all fours moving side to side, circling her. Watching him as she stirred the pot, Applejack just rolled her eyes as she kept to her own work.

'See they want to hurt us'
'Kill them all'
'Make them scream'

The voices screamed at him, but he didn't listen. He was outnumbered and lacking any kind of weapons; Vidar knew he couldn't win here. Vidar backed up, never looking away from her until he passed a small hut. He found himself at the wall of the fort, leaning on it trying to think of a move to make. After standing there for a bit he began to hear the sound of wood hitting wood and it piqued his curiosity making him head towards the sounds. Vidar found himself looking at a group of 14 young caribou, the youngest looking to be maybe 6 while the oldest looked to be just barely 16. They were training with wooden weapons while a few adults watched and gave pointers to the younger caribou.

"You can join them if you like." A familiar voice spoke behind him. Turning he saw Ivor and Gaius standing side by side.

"He should be itching to do something, " Gaius said, a little irritated. "He did eat both of our breakfasts."

"You're right. In exchange, why don't we give him a little training session?" Ivor smiled at the griffin.

"Hehe, anything to kick a little caribou ass." Gaius chuckled, giving Vidar a light shove on the shoulder towards the training area. But the young caribou shoved Gaius back a bit harder, further irritating the griffin. Gaius tried pushing him again, harder this time but got the same result. When he went for a third push Vidar jumped back from the push but jumped right back ramming his shoulder into Gaius's chest, making the centurion stumble back a bit.

"Okay lads. Keep a level head," Ivor said stepping between the two but was met with a glare from Gaius and a growl from Vidar who had dropped to all four like an animal ready to strike. "Well can't say I didn't try...just don't kill him." He said walking to a bench close by.

"No promises," Gaius growled, taking his sword and throwing it down, making the blade stab the ground.

"Wasn't talking to you." Ivor sighed sitting down to watch the two.

Gaius ran at Vidar but the young caribou was faster and jumped up, kicking the griffin right in the chest making Gaius stumble back as Vidar charged this time going to tackle his opponent. Gaius caught him and threw him into a nearby post, making a cracking sound as Vidar's ribs hit it. However, it didn't stop the young bull who was on his hooves again the second he hit the ground. It was Gaius's turn to charge, but Vidar springboarded off the post and over the griffin, landing a hard kick into Gaius's back getting some space between them. The young caribou ran at the griffin, grabbing a handful of dirt and throwing it in Gaius's face going to kick him. But the griffin's mask and helmet kept most of the dirt out of his eyes letting high grab Vidar's hoof and keep him in place bouncing on his free leg trying to keep his balance.

"Not bad kid," Gaius said before throwing the caribou into a rack of nearby logs, making them fall on him. "But not good enough." Gaius walked towards the pile and grabbed for Vidar but was met with a heavy blow to the side of his helmet, giving it a huge dent and knocking him away.

Vidar was standing now, holding the small log he had just hit Gaius with. Moving towards his downed opponent winding up and hitting him again knocking Gaius's helmet clean off. But as soon as he went to strike him again, Vidar's eyes met Gaius's and the color drained from the young caribou's face.

Gaius exhaled through the holes in his golden-orange beak. His feathers were a dull white with red tips. Along the right side of his face, over his cheek, was a massive burn mark. A ring of singed feathers and burnt flesh surrounded it, while tendrils of flesh and what appeared to be melted metal laced across it. Bits of the flesh were split apart, allowing others to see into his mouth through the scar.

Vidar dropped the log and started backing away as Gaius started to stand up, holding his hand to his face. Vidar dropped his head and turned to walk away, still in a state of shock.

"Hey, " Gaius called. "HEY!" He yelled but Vidar kept walking away. Gaius, now furious with the events that had just transpired and being ignored, grabbed his damaged helmet from the ground and hurled it right into the back of Vidar's head. With a heavy thunk, the young caribou stopped and slowly turned to look at the griffin. "Can't bear to look at what your people can do… HUH!?" Gaius yelled. Vidar only turned to walk away again, but before he could take more than a few steps he was grabbed by his braided hair and pulled around to look Gaius in the face.

"Take a good look, " Gaius growled. "This is what your people do and I'm one of the lucky ones." He said, his voice getting louder as he went on. "Look at me." He ordered but Vidar turned his head away. "LOOK AT ME!" He yelled, gripping his hair harder. "It doesn't heal, it doesn't scar-over, it just hurts… what am I saying your people probably live for the kind of pain I feel every Grover-damn day. Hell, you probably can't even imagine what this burn feels like. Who knows you, might even enjoy it, piece of low-life shit." Gaius finished, throwing Vidar aside to the ground and retrieving his helmet. The young caribou didn't move from his spot, thinking about what Gaius just said. The griffin walked away in the direction of the building he and his company had slept last night, picking up his sword as he left.

Ivor sighed and got up from his seat to follow Gaius but stopped and gave Vidar a pat on the shoulder. "You got fire kid… just try and add some ice to it." He said as he continued to go find Gaius, leaving a confused Vidar still sitting on the ground.

Ivor knocked on the door to the building and entered finding Gaius alone sitting on a bed trying to fix his helmet. Ivor walked over sitting on a bed across from him. "Damn, the kid put one Hel of a dent in that, " he said, trying to break the tension, only to get an annoyed glare instead. "Look I realize that my people have done terrible things and you have every right to be angry with all of us, " Ivor continued as Gaius looked away from his work for a moment at the caribou chief. "So let me try to make up for it. I was raised by a blacksmith, so if you let me, I'll fix your helmet."

Gaius looked at him for a moment, then his helmet and back again. "And I suppose all you want is for us is to be happy-go-lucky friends?" He asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"No, I want us to be comrades, " Ivor answered. "I’ll fix your helmet, and in exchange, you treat me and my clan as fellow soldiers as if of your own ranks, " He finished, holding his hand out for the helmet. "Deal?"

Gaius looked at his hand for a minute then sighed. "I don't like you, I don't think I ever will, and quite frankly you're an ass most of the time, " He told the caribou chief. "But I can tell by the way you speak and act that you would give your head to save a single person you care for so… deal." Gaius smirked, handing Ivor his helmet. "Just try not to fuck it up any more than it already is." With a smirk, Ivor took the helmet and led Gaius to the forge, which was already hot and ready to work.

"Lucky for us I can just melt down the metal and reforge it," Ivor said, beginning to take the helmet apart. As he worked Gaius stood in a dark corner, trying to hide his face while watching the chief work, putting the metal in a crucible. As the metal slowly reached liquid form, Ivor decided to try and lighten the mood.

"So how did you get such a pretty mark on your face?" Ivor chuckled, watching the flames.

"Cut myself preening. What happened to yours?" Gaius snapped back.

"Okay, sorry, calm down," Ivor said, not looking away from the fire. "You yelled at the kid that our people did it. I just wanted to hear the story from you rather than someone else." He said, working the bellows for more heat.

Gaius shook his head and rolled his eyes, letting Ivor work as the only sounds were fire crackling and the bellows working. After a few minutes, Ivor used some tongs and poured the metal into a mold so it could reharden when Gaius let out a long sigh. "I was a soldier turned mercenary, " he said, getting Ivor's attention.

"I didn't care what the job was as long as I got paid, " Gaius started. "I've killed, stolen, trained armies, I was even a bodyguard on a few jobs. Then he came to me…" He stopped for a second. "He was a commanding officer under Dainn on a campaign to a town called Appleloosa. He wanted me along with a hundred of my best." Gaius pushed off the wall and walked to the other side of the forge, inspecting some weapons. "I gave him my price and he said he would double it if we went along and didn't ask any questions or bat an eye at what they did. I let my greed control me and took his offer."

"We all have our weak moments," Ivor said, removing the ingot from its mold and dunking it in some ice water.

"Yeah mine got me this fucking shiner," Gaius said, pointing to the burnt part of his face.

"Just trying to sympathize, dick," Ivor grumbled, beginning to heat the metal and grabbing a hammer.

"You think your sympathy will help?" Gaius asked, his voice getting louder. "Fuck you and your sympathy, look at me I wasn't great looking before but now. Mirrors and cups break as soon as I enter the Grover-Damned building!" He continued as he growled and punched a hole in the wall. "Appleloosa was the only job I did for free. Instead, I got a scar and a wake-up call so pardon me if I'm coming off as a little touchy about the subject." The griffin centurion finished and turned to see Ivor looking at him. "Well? Got anything to say to that?"

Ivor only turned back and began to hammer out the metal. "I'm glad you got that out, " He said as he continued working. "Let's me in on the kind of warrior I'm fighting alongside."

Gaius was a little shocked at his words. "What is up with you?"

"Pardon?"

"Most caribou are kill first and ask questions later," Gaius said. "Yet you seem to look at a situation or person and try to figure it out. Why?"

Ivor chuckled and stopped working. "My father taught me how to fight and how to lead," Ivor removed his shirt to where it hung around his waist, revealing over a dozen tattoos and scars on his arms with a very detailed full back tattoo. "But my mother taught me smithing and how to survive. Both of what they taught tended to overlap." Ivor showed an almost untouched tattoo on his right arm and shoulder, on it was a tattoo of a female caribou's head and upper body wearing a helmet and long braided hair.

"Both told me two things. Father says 'Go into battle blind and don't return, but go into battle with open eyes and you'll see home again' and mother said 'Never be just fire or ice. Be both'. Neither phrase has ever led me astray" Ivor finished, pulling his shirt back up.

"So where are Mr. and Mrs. Viking?" Gaius asked, becoming more interested.

"Father came with us and mother she's… with our ancestors." Ivor answered with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Oh… sorry." Gaius said, feeling a little bad for asking.

"It's okay, it happened when I was young, " Ivor said, continuing to work on fixing the helmet. "A critical time for anyone, being young, impressionable, looking for a mentor or caregiver…" Ivor dragged on a little.

"I'm not apologizing to him," Gaius said. "Kid got his shots in, so I'm not apologizing for shit."

"Not asking you too," Ivor said, dunking the metal into a bucket of water with ice in it. "Instead, I want you to help me inspire him."

Gaius raised a brow at him. "I'm not following you…"

Ivor smiled. "He obviously holds no love for the Stonehoof, we saw what he did to Ragnar, now imagine what he'd do if he felt a want or need to help us fight them." He said, starting to shape the metal.

Gaius started scratching his chin thinking. "So treat him like a child needing to be taught rather than some dick who decided to pick a fight?" He asked getting an on the nose gesture from Ivor.

Gaius thought for a minute before sighing. "Fine, but I won't hesitate to knock the shit out of him."

"Didn't expect you to, " Ivor said. "I want you to train him, not father him. He's caribou, we'll treat him how we treat our own." Ivor finished, handing him the finished helmet with the fixed faceplate, but with a few runes carved and imprinted on it.

"The hell is this chicken scratch?" Gaius asked, a little pissed with the new addition to his helmet.

"That blow to the head should have killed you. These symbols mean protection, victory, and luck," Ivor explained, putting the tools away. "Consider it a way of saying 'you might not be caribou but we'll treat you like one', if that makes sense."

Gaius looked at the helmet. He took it and juggled it in his hands a bit then put it on. "Don't look too much into this cause I'd rather piss glass than be caribou, but thanks." He said, walking out of the forge and leaving the caribou chief to finish clean up.

--Meanwhile--

Shining Armor was in a large tent looking over a war map of the land. His mind was thinking as many steps ahead as he could. But a tug on his pant leg broke his train of thought and he instantly knew who it was.

"Papa?" Flurry asked, looking like she had just woken up.

"Hey, sweetheart, what are you doing?" Shining asked, picking her up.

"I had a dream, Mama was there." The young alicorn said, resting her head against her father's shoulder.

"Oh, baby we'll find her." He said, his voice cracking a bit trying to hide his sadness.

"I know, a pretty birdie told me so." Flurry said, making her father look at her quickly.

"Oh, did the birdie say anything else," Shining asked, humoring his daughter.

Flurry nodded her head. "It said that it would show me where Mama was and that I'd make new friends there." She then leaned towards the map and pointed to what was once a fort settled and a cliff over the sea. "Right here."

Shining looked at the location, Cirrus drop. He knew the location but the problem was that the only path that was trekkable went right past one of the strongest forts in the land, Gravethwaite. He couldn't risk any losses now, but even a chance to see his wife again… he didn't know what to do.

"Sir, " A voice spoke from the opening of the tent. Looking up, he saw Lucky now in a more feminine armor standing in attention. "The troops were wondering what our next move was."

Looking at Lucky then at the map, his daughter, and back at the map. He was lost at what to say or do, but a sound broke him from his thoughts; it was a soft 'book boop'. Shining looked to where he heard the sound. Near Cirrus drop was a large black raven looking at him.

"Pretty birdie." He heard Flurry say, pointing at the bird.

In a quick flap of its wings and it was out the opening of the tent and gone. Shining watched it fly away, then turned back to the map and sighed. "Tell them we make for Cirrus drop within the hour." Lucky nodded and turned to alert the camp. Shining looked at his daughter and smiled, thinking that most of the females in his life were smart and almost never wrong then why should his daughter be any different. He decided that come Hell or high-water, he would see his wife again and nothing would stop him.

Author's Note

Well, another chapter and a little more revealed about some of our characters.

Huge thanks to Centurion Pike-Wall for help with my grammar and with his character.

Also, I've still got at least three spots open for OC if anyone would like to submit one. https://www.fimfiction.net/group/214627/casting-call-foe-blood-and-honor/thread/419545/casting-call-for-fanfic-foe-blood-and-honor

So until next time. Be good everybody.