Ragnarr has had enough of this fool. He snorts, and shoves past him, willing to force Lagertha back if he has to, in order to reposition himself between the one he loves above all else, and the idiot stallion.
In Ragnarr’s eyes, this brute is childish, with rocks in his head instead of sense. It takes a deep breath to calm the Icelandic stallion enough to speak again, even though he is incredibly irritated that he has to repeat himself. Perhaps the stallion was partially deaf as well as unintelligent. It was reckless enough for all three of them to risk the icy waters once already this night (with their hidden reefs, dangerous rips and currents, and hungry sea monsters) but there was no way Ragnarr would allow this male to force Lagertha back into the sea – he would only be leading her to her death. He trusted Bjorn to back him up, and prayed that Raider would get the message and back off. It was completely unreasonable to force an exhausted pregnant mare into the cold dark waters without rest and light enough to navigate back safely.
Ragnarr was incredulous, and could not believe how such a reckless, rash and foolish stallion had ever earned a position of authority in the bachelor herd. If this was the kind of stallion Cullen relied on, the kind of commands he issued… Well, he made for an extremely poor leader. What use was gathering mares, if you would only push them beyond their limits and risk the foals you wanted them to bear? Death of innocent colts and fillies was not the kind of legacy Ragnarr wanted anything to do with. But he would not betray Lagertha again, nor abandon her. Their fates were intertwined, and where she went, he would surely follow.
Come sunrise, he would lead her back to the sea, and help her make the return swim to the Lagoon. If Raider dared to lay any kind of touch upon Lagertha’s hide, Ragnarr would react out of instinct and strike out at him. After all, Raider had made it very clear that he (and Cullen) had no interest in Lagertha’s wellbeing, and so he had no right to tarnish her with his unworthiness.
“I only say this one more time, you pathetic fool. She stays here. When the sun rises, I will bring her home. If you want to die, just try touch her one more time, or go to into the sea now by yourself. Otherwise, get away from us and wait until she is ready, like I told you.” With that, Ragnarr turned his back on Raider, dismissing him, and gestured to Lagertha with his muzzle, indicating for her to move a little way up the beach, where she could rest in a more sheltered spot until sunrise.
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