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Three months since she'd left. It was nearing low autumn now and she didn't miss home at all. It was tradition. It was the way of the warrior. She never looked back. In time, she discovered she was good with weaving and making things, including weapons. She preferred her shifted form. She enjoyed a lot of everything today, including a freshly caught fish. Hel had taken to wearing clothes, a long burgundy coat, a rich design with entwining stars and flowers on the hem. She'd made it herself. She'd also made the knife and short sword she was currently sharpening. Her bow and arrow were a present from the pack. She had a whole knapsack with her and she'd never felt more alive.
The sun was warm and her stomach was full after a successful fishing trip. She'd decided to lie back and enjoy the sunshine while it lasted. She needed to think about the winter. Cold wouldn't bother Hel, she was used to it. But loneliness would. Outwardly she would never complain from lack of company. She was a warrior. She was here to better herself. No distractions. The last wolf she'd fought had been slow and she'd spared his life. It annoyed her to think in those terms. Mercy was as good as pity. Better not shown. Hel closed her eyes and stretched lazily under the branches of the tree.
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It was a warm and sunny day, and the sunlight hurt Styx's eyes a bit. So he shaded them with a paw as he looked around. It'd been a few days since he'd left the last settlement and he needed to find a new place to settle down for a few days. With him, he had a couple of new items that he'd received as payment for his skills. Skills, you ask? You see, Styx (while not anywhere close to being a master) was a tattoo and piercing artist, thanks to his aunt 'Tay.
Styx was a grayish wolf, with white muzzle, belly and socks. So in a way it looked (when he was in his four-legged shapes) as if someone had thrown a gray rug over him. But right now, his back was hidden behind a backpack, and his abdomen and legs by a many-pocketed skirt. He'd requested it for a larger tattoo because of the pockets. After all, what better place to put his needles and ink when he wasn't travelling? After all, he only had so many paws; he couldn't hold it all, and the ground wasn't always level (or clean!) enough to allow things to be put there while he worked.
As he looked about himself, he caught sight of a dark shape lying in the sun. The scent of wolf reached him as the light breeze shifted, and he smiled. Company, perhaps? Eagerly, he approached the female shape, squinting in the daylight.
Ahoy! he called out as he got closer. Mind if I join you?
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Haha, cool layout. And crossdresser, much? XD
She opened an eye at the sound. Someone was trying to disturb her. In her nap, the hood of her cloak had fallen off her head to reveal perked black ears and piercing blue eyes. She stretched lazily and allowed herself a yawn with showed her powerful jaw and teeth. Muscles rippled under her fur and she got up to inspect this newcomer. He was shorter than her and she allowed herself a small sneer. How quaint. A little boy like him would never be allowed to live in her pack. Her parents would have it killed at birth. Survival of the fittest. Or he'd be kept behind, to do menial work and be expendable in case of hunt and attacks. But out here, those rules did not apply. He was no threat. He would not be treated as such.
You're welcome to join me. I have some fish left over, if you are hungry. Hel's tone was friendly, warm, though her eyes remained cool and distant. He could offer some information. And he'd offer company. She needed that. She'd not grown up in a loving family, not in the traditional sense of the word. But in a very visceral way she longed for company. She'd been allowed to build no bonds and in the beginning solitude was great for her. But now, now she wanted someone, at least for a time. What's your name? And why are you wearing that... skirt? For once, true emotion shone through. She truly was bewildered.
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Thanks ^.^
Cross dressing? Naw, just practical dressing 
Also, I love playing him XD He's so awkward and cute.
Styx blinked as the black form got to her feet. She seemed to just grow and grow before him. Sure, he'd met big wolves before, but this...? Fortunately, she didn't seem to be aggressive, or Styx might have had to run or abase himsef. After all, he wasn't big on the fighting business, and preferred the diplomatic way out of tricky situations. He smiled.
I'd be happy to, he replied, and licked his muzzle. He was rather hungry. He'd offer to trade something for the food, but since she'd simply offered... Maybe he should take it at face value, and if she wanted something afterwards, he was sure they could work something out. And thank you.
He was about to kneel down -- the skirt was unfortunately tight enough to make it difficult to sit any other way -- when she asked about precisely that. His skirt. He faltered for a moment, hesitating between whether he should stand back up again or sit down completely. But then he stood up, and patted his thighs. Pockets, he smiled, as if that explained it all. I do tattoos and piercings, and the pockets are great for holding things when I can't and when it's too impractical to keep them in my backpack.
Now he finally sat down, despite the submission factor of sitting down first and thus being even shorter compared to her than he was standing. But they couldn't stand around all day, and his hind paws needed some rest. Besides, she didn't strike him as the kind of person to submit to anything unless she had to. Styx was more used to it, since he was so scrawny.
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Watching football and trying to post is way distracting
He was being so friendly. Hel could gage easily enough what the other person was like and would generally adopt the cold and distant heartless bitch way of speaking. Not rude, but more like keeping them at arm's length. She preferred conversations where she could learn something new and she could remember a time when her father Loki would take her to secluded places and drill her, questioning her every move to the point of breaking her. She loved her parents deeply, with a fierce, possessive sort of love that she claimed was due to her gender and only that. Being the only female of the litter, she had tried harder than the males to prove herself and she was the first to leave the pack, always a sign of maturity and independence. You're welcome. Her reply was somewhat absently said, because her thoughts were still on what she should do. But he was ahead of her when he sat down and she blinked in confusion. So he wasn't impressed by her size, then? She found it strangely humbling.
She found herself wondering at his trade. It made her twitch slightly, the thought of getting piercings or tattoos. It was not forbidden in her family, nor was it frowned upon. A new form of pain overcome. But to prink himself like that? For she saw it as a warrior would: skirts were a hindrance, a barrier. Hel sat down with him and handed over the remaining four fish. She'd been quiet. She decided not to seem so rude. I'm sorry, I do not mean to be rude. I just find your dress code intriguing. I cannot wear skirts. They hinder my trade. She gave him a small smile. I am called Hel. One 'l'. And you?
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Good thing I don't watch football then
(Soccer, you weird American people.)
It amuses me that Hel thinks Styx isn't impressed XD He rather is impressed and intimidated. The only problem is that he's so used to it cos he's scrawny and non-violent
Styx's stomach growled embarrassingly when she handed him the fish, but he tried to keep his manners and started eating one of them slowly. While normally it might not be considered rude to wolf down your food -- pun not really intended -- Styx kind of thought it would be to do so now.
I'm Styx, he introduced himself in between swallows. Styx ap Siorus. Your trade? he added curiously. She was the more physical type, so she probably didn't have to depend on traps and wits for hunting as much as Styx did. You're right, though. It is a bit hindering. But it's worth it for the pockets, he finished with a smile, and then concentrated more on eating and listening.
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If she knew he's so non-violent she'd take the fish back
Hel gave him another small smile. He seemed slightly concerned with what she'd think of him and his stomach noises made her snigger a bit inwardly. His name was interesting, yes, though she found the need for a last name strange. In her pack, with the members named after the Norse characters, there was no need for a last name. And his was pretty strange. But now was not the time to question him on it. He was interested in what she did. So she'd tell him.
I am a warrior. My pack turns out those who are strong, so that they may better themselves. I left my pack three months ago. I've been in a few squabbles since. She smiled wearily and parted the fur along her calf to reveal a dark scab, still healing. Hel sat down and turned her back to him to part more fur at the nape of her neck. An old wound lay there, a white scar. That one on my leg was a male who decided I was cute and would have his way. I took his eye out. The one at my back was my brother Jormundgand, when I stole his rabbit. She turned back to him and shrugged. I'm trying to become better, and perhaps once day go back to my family. Or maybe not. I have begun to enjoy the solitude. But your company I also enjoy. One final smile before she started looking towards the horizon, for any signs of rain. Really, it was to avoid his gaze. He might get up and go. He could take the fish. She didn't want to see the pity in his eyes.
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Styx almost forgot to eat as Hel explained and showed off her scars. Part of him wished he knew the herbal skills his mother had, but then again she seemed to have managed quite fine as it was. Another part of him was horrified that she'd been injured so much -- and by her own brother, too! Of course, he couldn't really comment on that to a stranger, could he? So he shoved those thought aside and let the part of him that was amazed and impressed take charge.
So fish forgotten, he stared at her scars, trying to imagine himself emulating her and failing. He kept himself from blurting out, "Well, you are cute," when she told of one of her scars, because the comment would probably not be appropriate considering the situation she talked about.
She looked away as she finished speaking, and Styx was glad she did, because that meant she didn't see him lick his muzzle in embarrassment. They'd only just met, and she said she was happy for his company. That made him... warm. In a way that made him want to apologize. Even if he didn't know for what.
I also like your company, he replied quietly, and then smiled. And I must say that I'm a bit jealous. I mean, you're clearly a lot more capable than I am. And sometimes I wish I could fight as well as you. Perhaps it wasn't the smartest of things to admit, but it was a bit late to think of that now.
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Hel was no medic. But if one took into account the nature of her pack, it was quite easy to understand that they would teach their pups some basic form of herbal remedies. While any serious injury could cause her infections and septicaemia and therefore death, light cuts and bruises she could treat. She had been lucky, though she did not know it. And when finally the cloudless horizon told of no rain she had to concede that she was merely acting in a dilatory fashion and she would have to talk to him.
Her first reaction was surprise. She was no great fighter, not even close. And while he looked scrawny, it was no proof that he was harmless. He could be lithe and quick. Hel couldn't say that he was weak. And to have him admit it... Again she thought of her family. Such a statement would earn him death and inwardly she cringed because a part of her almost wanted to finger the blade she was carrying in her knapsack and gut him like a fish. But he was endearing, if only because he was crazy enough to admit to his weakness. And he was trying to be flattering for sure. I'm sure you wouldn't be saying such nice things if I'd denied you the fish. And you haven't seen me fight. If I were good, I'd have no scars or wounds. But thanks for being nice. So... where do you come from? Hel didn't want to seem too curious. But he seemed genuinely nice.
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If she'd denied him the fish? Styx blinked. She hadn't had to offer him it in the first place, had she? I'm not quite sure what you mean, he said. I didn't expect you to offer me your food in the first place, so if you hadn't, I wouldn't really have missed it. He would have been a bit hungry, yes, but he could have snared something later on, and he had a few belly-fillers in his backpack. No meat, of course, but apples and a box of berries. And should you want something in return for your fish, I'm sure we can work something out, eh?
If Hel would have said what she thought about him admitting his weak spots, Styx would have shrugged a little. She wasn't threatening, and even if she had been, Styx doubted he would have won against her anyway. So why had it mattered? Wasn't it easier to just say (indirectly, of course) that if it came to a fight, she'd win? That way, it wouldn't have to come to a fight if she wanted to bully him around.
My family lives in a town a couple of weeks' travel due north of here. My dad's from even further up north, from Wales, but my grandfather came south and met up with my grandma. He's dead now, so my dad's the head of our pack -- unless something's happened there since I left, of course. My mum's from... way south, somewhere. From the lands south of the inner sea. He grinned a bit. I'm a downright mix of areas. And races. Out of my four siblings, only one's a grey wolf like me and our dad. He looked curiously at Hel. What about you? What's your family like?
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Phail. Sorry >_>
You looked weary, so the food was simply a gesture of friendship. Your words seemed like a payment in return for the fish. So I felt like wondering, had I been selfish and not given you anything, would you still be saying such nice things? Was Hel really that confusing? Or had she met a wolf who did not catch on quick enough? She did dislike the stupid ones. She may not have been very smart, but some were even dumber. And trade seemed a good idea, so she flashed Styx a small smile. In time, Hel would come to guard herself more, she would no longer readily show her feelings, and even with Styx she would close herself, she would protect her deep thoughts and only let him see them at her weakest. In time, she would come to appreciate his words and his council, his strength and the depth of his love.
Family connected them. Family made them belong, family meant they had something to talk about, meant that finally they were getting somewhere. She listened intently to him, her eyes sparkling with interest, her body even leaning slightly towards him, catching his every word. But inevitably she asked about them, about Asgard. And he'd been honest with her. I come from cold lands, far to the north of here. The land is barren and icy, but my pack is strong. My father Loki leads it and my mother Angrboda is his faithful mate. I am one of three pups, my brothers Jormundgand and Fenrir had not left the pack when I had. So I do not know of their lives. She smiled at him again. We are all fighters. We follow the Prose Edda, the book of our pack. And we are all survivors. But tell me, Styx, why so far away from your lands? Do the wolves here enjoy piercings and tattoos? And where do you go from here? For a moment, Hel wondered if he would see it for what it was. A invitation to join her.
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It wasn't that Styx was slow or stupid; he just couldn't see how the giving or withholding of food would have changed how he viewed her. He didn't think it would have. Now, if he'd been starving and begged her for food, and she'd laughed and refused, then he might not have liked her as much, but now?
I don't think I would have acted any differently, he answered. It wasn't as though he could know how he would have reacted in a different situation now that this one had happened, could he? Even if you hadn't offered, I doubt you'd have acted dishonourably, so I see no reason as to why I would have done something differently.
He listened with interest to her account of her family. Edda... He had a vague recollection of his grandmother having mentioned it and Norse mythology when he was younger and she taught him and his brother to read and write. Something about a one-eyed god who talked to a head, or something. And a horse with eight legs. It was all very strange, and he was in a way relieved that his parents had picked Greek mythology when choosing their name. But then she asked him questions, and he focused on the now instead of the past.
My aunt -- my mother's sister -- taught me my trade, but in order to really learn, she said I should travel and see what others had to teach me. So that's what I do. I'm on a journey to learn more. I don't really have a goal with my travels; I mostly go from settlement to settlement, offering my services in exchange for goods and knowledge. Where are you headed? Perhaps they could travel together for a while?
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I'm finally back into my Hel groove 
Trading. Hel realised that somehow that was all they'd been talking about. She felt slightly sad again and even drew back slightly from him. It felt so shallow, all of this. Exchanging banter about some meaningless phrase and then moving on to safe topics, family and work. Why couldn't she ask him more? Why was she so guarded? She looked away, sighing softly. Hel was still at a time in her life when showing feelings could be expected occasionally. But still, the walls were being built and she was left to struggle with herself, in an effort to become what Loki had predicted she would be: her father's daughter.
I go east of here. I have heard that packs of very skilled fighters lie that way. And I miss the cold. Here, sometimes, it is far too hot for me. As strange as it sounds. Hel gave him another one of her rare smiles. He would never last out there, in the Eastern frozen lands. He seemed so fragile, somehow and she almost felt like touching him, hugging him tightly. But that, again, would be something her father would not approve. Love and mateship were of course necessary, as the line of warriors would have to be passed down. Her mate would be expected to be strong and able to care for himself, a male of good lineage and great skill. They would be the Alpha pair of their pack and lead with an iron fist.
Hel looked at Styx again. He would be a pariah in her pack, an animal reduced to a working slave. She herself would see him as such. But here, in the unclaimed lands, outside Asgard's reach, she had to admit that he was interesting. He was no warrior, but he was an artist. Which was more than could be said about Hel. You are more than welcome to come with me, if you like. I travel quickly and often get into fights... but I can offer protection. Hel looked at him with a hint of worry in her blue eyes. Would he refuse her offer because of her intended direction of travel?
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I'm so sorry I went poof like that D: I'll try to do better!
Hot? Well, it certainly could be, Styx didn't argue that. He'd grown up in the south-western parts of the British Isles, and while they did have nice sunny weather, rain was far more common, and he found the warmer sun down here quite bothersome at times. So he nodded slowly, listening to her, until she added something he hadn't expected.
"You are more than welcome to come with me, if you like," she said, and he blinked in surprise. "I travel quickly and often get into fights... but I can offer protection."
He considered this for a few moments. It would be interesting to travel with her, he didn't doubt that. And seeing as he'd come from the north this time, east would mean a new direction, and new communities in which he might be able to offer his services. He was sure Hel could fight -- just looking at her made him certain of it -- but fighting wouldn't always provide what one needed.
I think I'll take you up on that offer, he smiled. I haven't been to the east so far, and I'm sure it will be very interesting. And at least so far I'm enjoying your company.
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Turned out more emo than I thought it would
He'd accepted. She found it quite.... improbable, but there it was. She looked away again, towards the east and her vision darkened. She knew enough of what would follow to comprehend the immensity of her task. The others had shown her a rough map, an etching of the lands to the east. It would get worse, the distances were great and truly, could he honestly withstand all that? Could he go through that? What did he have to bargain in this? He was no warrior, he was weak and he could die. Hel turned back to him with a sadder expression than ever before and sized him up. Was she not being selfish here?
Styx, my company alone will not get us through. The closest inhabited village is within a week's walking distance and that is at my pace. We could hunt for food, that would be no problem. I just don't want you to think it will be easy. It won't. And my company can be tiresome at times. Hel looked down at her pack. She'd be ready to go any minute, but Styx... Well... it would be nice to have someone to walk with, but not if it killed him. He was weak, yes, but this was not Asgard. Her Asgard rules did not apply. At all.
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*looks for emo* I see no emo =D
Styx silently wondered if it was something with women in general that made them this complicated, or if it was just Hel being Hel, but why was she trying to push him away after she'd offered him to come with her? Perhaps it was that she didn't really want him to come along? But why had she offered in the first place, then?
Umm, he started hesitantly, not wanting to offend her if there was something else she had issues with. If you don't want me along, you can say so, you know. I won't take offense from honesty. But if you do want me along, then I'd very much like it. And just because I'm small, it doesn't mean I am slow. He smiled. And I don't eat as much. As proven by the fact that he hadn't even finished all the fish she'd given him. I might not be an expert hunter, but... I could always set up camp while you hunt?
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Is that what he really thought of her? That she might be playing at some silly childish game? She did want him along, of course she did. Hel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to understand that she needed the company. Growing up with Jormundgand and Fenrir had been a challenge, but she had had the company. Warriors on these roads were few and far between, mostly old wolves who sneered at the female for having grand dreams of being a fighter. They laughed at her disguise, at her weapons, at her size and at her ambition. Hel never looked back on that. She simply gave them curteous nods and moved on. But Styx was no warrior. He was a regular wolf. He would offer her the company other warriors hated. And she would protect him.
Breaking into a smile, she said, I am sorry Styx, I am just tired. I think that at least for a while we can travel together. I will hunt for us, and I can show you how to tackle bigger game. We leave at night. Mostly I travel under cover of darkness. I hope you will not fault me for it. And now, I think we should both rest. I have scouted the area and it seems safe. I will go on guard in a few hours and we leave when the sun sets. And with that, Hel slid down the tree trunk, pulling the hood over her eyes. She didn't know quite why, but she felt safe with Styx.
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Yay, I managed to retrieve the post ^.^ This thread should be finished now? Or...perhaps one post more or something?
Oh, tiredness. Yeah, Styx could understand that, especially if, as she said, she travelled at night. Styx gave her a slightly apologetic smile. Perhaps he'd been a bit rash in assuming she didn't want him along. Perhaps she'd just been worried that he thought travelling was all sunshine and daisies? He nodded in understanding, and took off his backpack, supporting it against the side of the same trunk Hel was leaning on. He wasn't especially tired right now, since he'd normally travelled by day.
I'll take first watch, then, he said, more because he wouldn't be able to sleep than because of any feeling of duty. G'night. Or... should it be g'day? He winked at her, before settling down. He had a new book in one of his pockets; perhaps he should read for a bit?
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