Chapter Seven

Katla began her morning in the same routine fashion that she had fallen into. The numb autopilot that had her searing some of the stored meat, brushing any filth from the day prior off her ragged tunic, and then eating her breakfast while mending the tools she would need for the day ahead. A tired yawn escaped her as she reviewed the items in her storage chest. Materials enough to make a pair of pants from the ragged bits of boar hide while she saved the more valuable deer leather for future equipment. 

A soft relieved sigh escaped her as she shimmied on the warm leather leggings. They were loose in places, lumpy in others, and told of her novice level craftsmanship but she was finally covered from the stray breezes that teased over any bared flesh. Her skin sheltered from the small scraps and scratches from random bracken that cut across her skin during any of her mindless flights. Critically she looked over the tiny living space to make certain everything was put away and in good repair. 

"Now to convince those boars to go into the pen and become happy little pets." She sighed at the seeming futility of her efforts. The idea of playing bait first thing in the morning was less than appealing. Other tasks could be taken, like possibly expanding her little home for further space so she didn't bump into her chests if she turned too rapidly or risk singeing her toes at night if she was restless in her sleep. Her nose scrunched as she surveyed the the tiny hut from the outside. Ugly, small, and gangly; it was her home but could use some work.

"Hunt, or improve living conditions..." The question on her lips as she thought over the insistence of the feathered tick that constantly appeared to squawk at her about defeating the enemies of Odin. No doubt Hugin would complain, preen, and shed dander everywhere in outrage if she paused her continued efforts to improve her weapons and clothing; but having a safe home was a high priority for Katla. The tug between each direction had her checking her pack for the bow and arrows as well as her hatchet for cutting wood along with last ditch defense. 

"I HAVE ARRIVED" Disoriented, masculine, and human the voice rang out over the meadow. The sound of heavily beating wings and furious shrieks added to the sudden cacophony of noise that shattered the stillness of world. Disoriented Katla whirled away from the hut; her decision making made moot.  Wide eyed she searched the clearing and closest portions of the meadow; seeking signs of movement through the tall grass. No other humans, no ravens, not even the rambling boar. Conspicuously empty, without even the random grayling skulking along the sun dappled shadows. Just her and the gently swaying grass and flowers. 

The shrieking increased in pitch as a flock of bird flung themselves into the sky, darting and weaving between two larger winged creatures. Women with the wings and claws of Odin's ravens. Their bodies clad in the flashing silver and gold that mimicked the flash of lightening as they flew up into the sun's rising rays. Curiously she looked towards the direction they flew from, watching as the large black raven started his spiralizing decent downwards. 

Another person? Usually Hugin only showed up to impart some tidbit of cryptic and usually nonsensical wisdom. The idea of seeing another human, of hearing another voice besides her own, brought her heart to racing in a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Scenarios ran through her head; worries about how the interactions would go, if she had forgotten how to work with another human on top of most of her knowledge of the world. Excitement won over anxiety as she ran towards the standing stones. Her breath caught as she alternated between her ground eating jog and a full out sprint.

Maybe this new person would have some knowledge beyond her own limited means. Hope powered through the doubt that had her hesitating on the edge of the glen that surrounded the grassy meadow where the stones stood. Cautiously she crept closer to the clearing before dropping down into a thatch of raspberries to hide as the Valkyrie launched into the air with a horrible screech. Briefly she took in the vision of the creature. Beautiful for all its harsh beauty, with snow pale hair that ended in light feathers to trace along what would be a hairline. The armor glinted brightly and was created to fit the winged warrior's body and allow the maximum level of mobility. Her mouth dried and her tongue caught against her lips as she fought the urge to call out; to plead that it return her to the battlefield that she had been plucked from.

'The megaliths surrounding you are the Sacrificial Stones. They represent the Forsaken, which you must slay in order to ascend to Valhalla.'  Her ears caught the tail end of Hugin's greeting speech. Something she had been too dazed to fully take in. Katla sighed as the Valkyrie flew out of sight as she approached the gap in the ringed alter. The man was slumped against the ground, giving her a full view of his strong muscled back, covered in thick raised scars along with thinner flat ones that came with harsh living conditions. 

Critically she took in the deep golden brown hue of his skin, the coiled and knotted tangle of hair pulled into a sloppy bun with the color somewhere between black and auburn. He was healthy once, before being drug here. His body spoke of food security and rest. As she surveyed him further a blush stained over her cheeks at the round firm globes of the man's ass left exposed to the cool morning air. Damn creatures always forgetting that clothing was not an optional item for survival. 

"Still indulging in your nude human fetish, Bird?" Katla cut off the raven. His neck feathers ruffled up as he lifted a clawed foot to scratch along his beak in agitation. The man rose and whirled into a defensive crouch; his movement swift and gracefully done in a manner that told her he was accustomed to fighting and attack. Katla forced her eyes away, refused to look at all his attributes on display. "At least you could have given him pants.." 

The man seemed to suddenly feel the cold air against his sensitive bits. A smile threatened to spread over Katla's mouth as she watched him shift in a desperate search for something to cover himself with. She gave a sigh recognizing that if she wanted this new human to trudge along then she would need to clothe him. Before she could continue on her tirade against the useless raven the bird threw itself in the year, sending a few loose feathers to float down on the wind. "Fine, be that way..." Katla muttered beneath her breath as she dropped her hands to the ties holding the waist of her pants against her body. 

"Who are you woman?" The man's voice was deep and sliding over the words in a familiar gruff pronunciation. Katla worked to keep her eyes on the piercing blue of him versus letting them wander. The situation was probably just as uncomfortable for him as it was her. The narrowing of his eyes told her just how much he appreciated the hesitation of her answer as she worked to find her voice. Tears had gathered in her eyes at the sound of another human voice. 

"Woman." The statement came again more demanding as he shifted to approach her. His nudity seemed to be a situation he could ignore. Something Katla could not fully understand as she had been terribly uncomfortable without the support the shirt had offered her breasts, so his dangly bits hanging out in the air made her cringe. 

"Katla." Her name escaped her as she turned around. "Its cold and the bird seems to forget that we don't have feathers when we are dumped here." The words escaped her in a rush. Carefully she put down her bow trying to ignore the itching sensation between her shoulder blades as he stood behind her still bewildered. 

"Probably going to be too tight, but it is better than nothing.." She groused as she pulled her freshly crafted pants down her legs. The cool breeze once more touched over her bared calves and thighs. Without turning around she thrust the pants away from her body  holding them there until she felt them snatched away. She waited until the sounds of him fighting the tight leather up his legs and hips ended. She turned around and smothered a laugh at the situation. He had left the laces on the front of the pants unlaced but even then they were too tight through his hips, thighs, and calves. The seams threatened to pull free and the bottom of the legs came to only midcalf. 

"Obliged. I am Bjorn." His brow furrowed as he couldn't remember the last of his name and she knew the feeling of vertigo that came with not having any memories. "Do  you know how we come to this place?" The question had her shrugging her shoulder as she picked up her bow to sling over her shoulders before she pulled out a piece of boar meat from her pack that was supposed to be lunch. She offered the food and waited for him to take it. 

"The bird went over it and if it is the same for you, he will keep showing up for you as well to give useless information with no additional tools." She turned to head towards her hut. A quick glance told her that as he stepped from the stones the same type of pack appeared on his back as it had hers. "Pick up stones and wood as we go. I have a camp that way and we can get you some tools to hunt." 

Katla waited to see if the man could work through the strangeness off the situation to trust her, or if he was going to go the opposite way in his too small pants. The sound of grass crinkling under his feet gave way to his steady steps as he started to follow her. She turned away then and started the looping path back towards her little home. Each little surprised grunt he gave behind her, told her that he was following her advice in grabbing random items off the ground as they went. 

The entire way back her body was tensed, on edge as she kept looking for the little graylings that seemed to appear at inopportune times. Finally they reached her little clearing, with the sad pen littered with wilting mushrooms and slowly dissolving raspberries. At the questioning lift of his eyebrow Katla shrugged before giving a little sigh. " Don't ask.. I am still working it out. Wait here."

That stated she ducked through the rough door of her hut to rummage through her supplies, making a second set of pants. A sigh escaped her as she had planned on making a hat to help keep the morning mists off her head as well as protect her hair from tangling worse until she could figure out a comb situation. Mindful of making them a larger size she was thankful the work bench at least used only the same amount of materials. 

She quickly grabbed her spear with a sigh. The weapon had served her well and now it would hopefully help the new addition to her little homestead.  As she stepped out she watched as he spun around looking at her small clearing doing his best to remain on good manners despite the cold pebbling his skin. Katla didn't pause as she handed him the new pants and motioned to the door.

"Go  change, these should fit you better. After I am going to work on the lodging. It would be better if I just added room to what is current than made new, but it is up to you." Talking felt strange after the days spent in silence or talking to herself. The oddity of hearing his breathing, the sound of his very human presence moving around, and just the concept of not being alone any longer. 

"Thank you. I will change and will help. Adding will do if it is easier for you. Tell me how to help." Survival came over any other concerns and right now Katla held the upper hand with her weapons, shelter, food, and clothing. She waited until he changed to start figuring out how to reconfigure the hut to be something slightly larger. Just enough to fit another bed and additional chests but would still fit in the small area she had cleared without moving the makeshift pen. 

Bjorn was as good as his word, accepting the spear she handed to him after her pants were returned and she had pulled them back on. He hadn't questioned being boar bait while she expanded the footprint of the tiny hut and built it up to include a little loft to fit several chests. The beds were now on opposites sides of the hut, with the fire and its makeshift hearth between them. When she was satisfied with the rearrangement of the items within she ducked out only to see in surprise two boar angrily circling within the pen. The outraged squeals and snorts given as they rammed against the split pole pen. 

"I made a hammer. The knowledge just appeared in my mind." Bjorn spoke from over her shoulder. She watched as he pulled a downed log back towards their clearing to break up into smaller pieces with his axe. "I guess that was the intention with your plans. Also found more of those berries." Katla looked up at the sky to measure time. The sun was starting to set and she felt a measure of guilt at the amount of time it had taken her to repair her pants then adjust the small lodge to fit their needs. 

"You guessed right. How did you get them in there?" She asked curiously before jumping at his deep booming laugh as if he found her question greatly amusing. She had tried to lure them in there multiple times and failed; to her mind the question was legitimate.

"I punched them. They happily pursued me after that. Then I closed the opening and jumped the fence." A laugh escaped her as she took in his simple solution with the animals. Katla had tried to coax them as if she would make friends with the irritable beasts while Bjorn had handled the creature's base nature and used it against them.

"I hadn't thought of that. Come inside, it is getting cold and the monsters that live here will soon be stirring. Plus you must be hungry." Together they entered her small hut. Together they worked on both repairing the tools, storing away what Bjorn had foraged, and made dinner of roast  venison. The silence was companionable as they retired to their separate beds. As she settled into the soft fragrant nest Katla gave a little sigh of pleasure; content to at last not be alone.