Re: Viking Au V2

[melodiousmysteries]

Sigmund listened to him, worried for the boy. "Hes not here. Hes not around anymore." He assured, reaching a hand out slowly to put it on Ravens arm.

[Deathcap]

Raven wrapped his arms around his legs tightly, looking over his knees to meet Sigmund's eyes, feeling pitiful as the other touched his arm.
"I... I know. But I think of him all the time." He replied hopelessly, sniffing and wiping his eyes, but let out another sob as he tried to find the words to speak. "He used to take me hunting with him - like this - but so we could be alone. He taught me to shoot. I think of him when I'm trying to sleep, when I'm alone, when others touch me." Raven got out as he tried to catch his breath. "When I shot the bird, I thought of when I killed him." He admitted. "Even then I was a coward. I shot him in the back, and I messed up - my hands were shaking. I had to finish him off with a knife. I didn't want to. I didn't want to hurt anyone. I don't even like hunting. But he was hurting Pel, too. I didn't know what else to do. I... I just wish I was someone else." He got out, leaning into the other's hand.

[melodiousmysteries]

Sigmund leaned in to hug the boy tightly, trying to soothe him. "You did what you had to. Its okay" he assured him, reaching one hand up to pat the boys hair down.

[Deathcap]

Raven leaned back into Sigmund, comforted against the man's form as the other stroked his hair. He slowly got ahold of his breathing, meeting the other's golden eyes with his own teary ones. "Am I always going to feel like this?" He asked desperately.

[melodiousmysteries]

Sigmund leaned back and looked at the boy sadly. "Not always." He started with a sigh. "I think it's always there, but we learn how to deal with things as they fade. Some days are always harder than others, but you're not alone. "

[Deathcap]

Raven took a breath and nodded quietly, wanting desperately to believe the other. At least, despite everything, they were safe here in the valley with the Redsnows. He rested his head on Sigmunds shoulder for a moment, thankful for the comfort.

SKIP

Pel made her way through the forest with Worji, enjoying the cool summer wind that blew up into the ancient pines from the Cloudmoor as they searched for game. She froze at the sound of someone, or something - moving, far too loud for a deer or rabbit. She took a wary step back and backed into Worji slightly, touching his arm to get his attention.

[melodiousmysteries]

Worji walked after Pel happily. He almost ran into her when she stopped, scanning the trees for anything off. He reached to grab her arm and pull her behind him protectively, holding his bow tightly in his other hand.

[Deathcap]

Pel stepped behind the other slightly, watching warily, ready for a fight if it was some predator or person, but she was frozen in disbelief when Dalian stumbled from the ferns, bloodied and worn looking. "Dal?" She startled, stepping out from behind Worji to approach the other cautiously.

Dalian looked up, wide eyed at the two, his hair a mess, and long dried blood staining his shirt and arms, old, deep and ill looking gashes down one forearm, almost like the mark of claws, but far larger than any on a paw Pel knew.
"Pel? Gods it's something to see you! Where have you been? What- what are you doing out here, whose this? Where's-"
"Dalian? What's happened to you?"
"We - we were attacked. There- there's so many dead." He got out, voice dry from lack of water. "I'm looking for help - can you help?" The other sputtered.
Pel cast a worried glance back at Worji, unsure what to do but terrified for the state of Dal. She couldn't just leave or bring Dal to the village. Not without permission. But Attacked? What of the others? Was Unavyre okay? Cornflower?

[melodiousmysteries]

Worji watched the stranger warily for what felt like an eternity, eventually turning back to Pel. "We should bring him back with us. He can get cleaned up and tell dad his story." He suggested, though tense.

[Deathcap]

Pel met Worji's eyes, nodding, and moved to offer the other a hand. She wrapped her arm around Dalian's back to help support him, and the man winced, but adjusted himself.  "Dal, I'll help, but you have to promise that you won't tell anyone of the village we're headed to. Not even Aila."

Dalian looked at her strangely, but nodded. "Aila isn't...Yeah, sure."

"Give me your word, bastard."

"I swear."

"Come then, we'll get you patched up."

"Thank you." Dal got out, almost breathless. "I'm... I'm glad to see a friendly - er, familiar face. Are you... you survived?"

"Do I look dead to you?"

"What about Raven? Who is this?"

"Raven's fine. He's back home. This is Worji. Worji, this is Dalian, he's a friend. From our old home." She told him, voice pointedly strained.

Dalian looked at the much larger man, and gave him a slight nod with a weary face.

"Dalian... what happened to you? You look like you've been running all night."

Dalian swallowed. "I have. We... over the last month, we've been hunted by this... this bear, if you can call it that. It started slowly, we heard other clans dealing with a monster they never saw, then people started to go missing. We found Aila torn apart in the woods, not even eaten, just ripped into pieces." He got out, the horror clear in his eyes. "Then it attacked the village. Some of us stayed to protect the women and children, some others and I went to look for help, or somewhere to bring them." He explained.

As they made their way back into the village, Pel supported Dal as best she could, bringing him to sit under some shade while she waited for Worji to bring Sigmund, or Mira, or whoever would deal with this.

[melodiousmysteries]

Worji led the two through the trees, keeping an eye out for anything else that could be trouble. He kept an eye on Dalian too, not trusting the stranger quite as much as Pel seemed to. Trusting him enough to leave the two on their own under the tree, but not enough to not hesitate first.

He returned after a few minutes with both of his parents. Sigmund standing, looking over the two under the tree with some scrutiny. Mira immediately kneeling down to take stock of the boys wounds. "And where did you come from?" She asked curiously, not lookin up at him.

[Deathcap]

Dalian watched the two with a pained expression, glancing at Pel. He wasn't certain how much they knew. At her nod, he spoke up. "From the south - Blavkinter. What's left of it." He replied to the woman. "We were attacked by a great demon bear. It... It must have been two or three men tall. So many are dead." He got out. "Women and children, and... some of us went looking for help."

[melodiousmysteries]

Sigmund looked to his wife in concern for a moment. He reached for Worji's arm, pulling him in close. "Go and get Hal. We're going to need a proper healer." He instructed, sending his son off.

Mira watched he boys face for any sign of deception, standing once she had found none. "Pel. Would you be able to guide some hunters to the area given the chance?" She asked, forming a plan. She didnt like bringing outsiders here but there wasnt anywhere else.

[Deathcap]

Pel met Mira's eyes, her own wide with anxiety, but nodding. "I could." She answered. Dal listened to the coversation, thankful but worried. He hoped these people were trustworthy.

Raven appeared shortly, setting down one of the little ones from his shoulders and hurrying over to see Dalian. "Dal?! Whats happened to you?" He asked in alarm at the state of the other.

"We were attacked. A lot of dead. Came to find help. I didnt expect to see you two." He repeated. "You both look well. I'm glad to see you alive." The young man got out, then glanced back at Mira. "I can lead them, too."

[melodiousmysteries]

"You shouldn't be going anywhere." Mira scolded him. "We'll gather sedri and some others to go with you and scout things out, help who you can and get them back here." She told Pel, looking far more serious than was typical for the woman. "No undue risks and back to safety here as soon as you can. No bears bother this place."

[Deathcap]

Dalian looked at the woman worriedly, but gave a half hearted nod. She was probably right.

"Okay, Mira." Pel replied, grateful that at least Sedri was coming. As torn as she felt, she wasn't sure she had the guts to go back to that place alone. It had felt so far away, and now here was Dal, right in her face, and soon the others would be too, in her home.

"I'll go too. Let me get my things." He told her quickly, and hurried off to grab his sword and buckler, terrified for Unavyre, Cornflower, and many of the others.

[melodiousmysteries]

~~~SKIP~~~

Sedri trotted after Pel and Raven towards their village, keeping his head on a swivel. "Are you sure this is the right way?" He asked, sounding impatient.

[Deathcap]

"We're almost there." Pel replied, anxious herself and trying not to grouch back at the other.
She led the way swifly through the woodland she had Raven hafrd spent last autumn in, and down into the valley she'd been too scared to leave all her youth, until they came upon a large village, strangely quiet, with only a single line of smoke rising from among the many halls.

She led the way carefully, taking in the clawmarks and heavy paw prints scoured over the ground, the splintered wood and flecks of blood.  Corpses left unburied.

She felt frozen as the familiar, frightened  faces appeared from the central hall at their approach... Unavyre, Cornflower, some of the women, and a scattering of injured men. "Dal found us. Told us." Was all she could get out, looking over them with an expressionless quiet. She felt as if she was dreaming, watching this all from afar. Was this real?

Unavyre stepped out first as the others whispered and muttered, and approached her. She almost jumped as he embraced her, holding her tightly.

Raven stared back at the watching, fearful, curious and hostile faces, meeting their gazes one by one as he took in each person, deciding who would be coming. Then he met Unavyre's troubled eyes over Pel's shoulder, and quickly looked away, back to the crowd. "There is a safe place in the mountains. We can bring you there. Who leads you?"

There were murmerings of uncertainty, questioning and fear.
"No one, too many are dead." Unavyre replied, softly. "In the mountains, is that where you've been?"

Pel nodded, "Yes, with an honorable clan." Pel felt her voice crack a little as a feeling of dizzyness came over her. "Theyre offering you shelter."

"Why would we trust you, exiles? Murderers." One spoke up.

"Murderer." Raven corrected with a growl. "Then, you'll stay?" He spoke flatly, hating the part of himself that wished the village all gone.  But not Unavyre, not Flower, not really.

There was nervous shuffling and hushed words, until Unavyre spoke again. "We'll go. Where else?" He whispered dreadfully, then called back. "Gather your things! Before sundown! Is it far?"

"Not far." Pel breathed.

‐-----------------------
Pel stuck close to Sedri as they gathered things and loaded a cart with no horse left to pull it. She felt as if her body moved on its own.

Raven moved about, gathering things and checking bodies. He stood apart, watching quiety for a while. Eventually, he walked over to Sedri once he was alone for a moment.

"Sedri. The two men with the silver hair. They are not coming with us." He told him quietly, meeting his eyes, hoping he would understand.

[melodiousmysteries]

Sedri ran around trying to help people load up what they could of what was left. He fidgeted a bit every time he stopped and actually looked around. All of these people were looking pretty rough. It was making him very nervous to be this far from home. He looked up when raven approached,  trying to see who he was talking about. "That's okay. Old men are allowed to die where they want, I guess. " he told the boy with a shrug.

[Deathcap]

Raven frowned slightly at the other, reconsidering his words. "No, I mean... We are not letting them come home to your family, Sedri. They are monsters in people's skin." He hissed. "They-" He broke off, glancing across to where Pel was helping a woman splint young Cornflower's leg. How did he explain the brutality of Agnar's warriors to someone like Sedri? Cruelty so common among the warring clans, but somehow absent among their new family in the mountains? What he'd seen them do to enemies, slaves, their own people? "We cannot bring them back. I know they will-  people would not be safe."

[melodiousmysteries]

Sedri looked from raven to the men again, clearly deep in thought. He had never considered the possiblity of other types of shifter people before. He reached down to pull his hatchet halfway out of its loop on his belt. He looked between it, the men and Raven several times, trying to see if he had understood properly this time.

[Deathcap]

Raven's eyes widened at the other's drawing of his weapon, quickly pushing his wrist back.
"Not- not literally beasts- gods,-" He breathed. Metaphors were lost on this one, as much as he loved the other.
"Sedri. Listen, they are blood-brothers of my old chieftan. They enjoy killing folk for the sake of it, getting in fights, beating their women, they hurt pel. If they find their way to our home, they might do the same. They might hurt people." He explained. "If you're going to kill them, not in front of the children - I was thinking we could leave them behind. Warn them off. I can... I can deal with it if they refuse." He said, uncertainly.

[melodiousmysteries]

Sedri nodded, seemingly understanding. "Okay. Dont kill them. I got it." He told raven affirmatively. The rodent in his brain obviously running overtime on its wheel today, Sedri turned in the direction of the two men, walking confidently up to them to talk.

[Deathcap]

Raven watched the other head in their direction, unsure of what he intended on doing, but made his way over to Pel, instead, watching her glassy-eyed expression with a deep worry. Without touching her, he crouched next to her. "Pel? Can you start taking everyone up the mountain? Sedri and I, and a few others, are going to finish... packing things up." He said pointedly, glancing over to where Sedri was walked up to the two.

Pel met his eyes, then followed his gaze, and nodded quietly, seeming to understand. "Be safe."

"Of course."

When Pel had led the small band of survivors through the treeline, Raven turned to see what Sedri was up to.


The two stood at the edge of camp, gathering the last of their belongings, when Sedri made his approach.

[melodiousmysteries]

Sedri stopped a short distance from the two, staring them down evenly. "You two are not welcome to follow." He told them firmly.

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